Harry Potter: The Black Lord
by Hichitsuki-hime
Summary: The events of the Sorcerer's Stone went on like they did in canon and this begins during the summer before second year. Harry finds some of his parents' old things in the attic at 4, Privet Drive and makes a very important discovery. creature!Harry / Severus maybe Lucius pairing; lots of Dumbles & Molly bashing; mentions of rape
1. Uncovering Past Secrets

**Summary:** The events of the Sorcerer's Stone went on like they did in canon and this begins during the summer before second year. Harry finds some of his parents' old things in the attic at 4, Privet Drive and makes a very important discovery.

**Pairing:** Harry / Severus (maybe Lucius);

**Warning:** lots of Dumbles & Weasley bashing;

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

* * *

**PROLOGUE.**

_[Dear Diary,_

_Today has been a really tiring day. Yesterday I told James that I was pregnant. He was overjoyed, as was I. And today I fell down the stairs and lost my baby. How on Earth am I to tell that to my husband?_

_13. 10. 1979.]_

Harry stared at the faded page of the diary in his hand. If this was really his mother's diary and all the signs pointed to it, than the child known as Harry Potter was never even born. So than who was he? He impatiently flipped the page over and read the next entry.

_[Dear Diary,_

_It's been a week since I last confided in you. Things went through a dramatic change, not that anyone except me knows about it. See, when I lost little Harry, I went to see a mediwitch that is a good friend of mine (I of course swore her to secrecy just in case). It turns out that my muggle blood was the reason I couldn't carry to term. Thus I've undergone a ritual to purge the muggle blood out of me. That is the reason I couldn't write sooner. Lucky for me James is out of the city on an assignment and should be away for at least a few more weeks. I can't even believe I'm about to do this, but it's the only way I can remain with James. Tonight I have a date with Regulus Black. He is Sirius' younger brother and a Death Eater to boot, but he is a pureblood wizard and a powerful one at that. He agreed to give me a child, if I name him or her him heir, so that the Black Family won't die out. Got to go, write soon._

_20. 10. 1979.]_

The green eyed boy frowned slightly. There could be no doubt – this was about his conception. His father was not his father. He didn't know what to think about this. He decided to withhold judgment until he finished reading the diary and mentally thanked his aunt Petunia for never throwing things away. He recalled how he found the diary in the first place.

*flashback to a few days ago *

12 year old Harry Potter has been back from his first year at Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry for almost two months now and there was almost an entire month of summer left to go before he could go back to school. Of course his books were all locked up in the cupboard under the stairs and he couldn't do his summer assignments, still it was much better than being stuck at the Dursleys doing their house work for them. Currently he was stuck at the dusty attic, cleaning it. His job was not to throw out stuff. No, he was just to dust everything and arrange it in such a way so that there would be enough space to place his cot, table, wardrobe and a small kitchen. You see, a distant relative of Petunia's got stuck at a hospital and his aunt agreed to take in the kid of said relative for a month. So now Harry was relocating to the attic. According to Petunia, the child was not to know that Harry was there. Thus a window was made and a ladder was placed near it, so that Harry could get from the attic into adjacent barn. There was already a small bathroom at the attic, so Harry had no arguments against living there. He placed the rows of boxes in such a way that the door to the attic could not be opened by the unknown kid that would naturally be curious about the house he would be staying at. It was during that huge cleaning spree that Harry came across his mother's school trunk. Also there was a box there that was labeled 'James & Lily'. He placed the two items in such a way that they didn't stand out but were easily accessible none the less.

*end of flashback*

So now it has been almost a week since the new kid arrived and Harry spent the entire time at the attic. The first thing he did was go through the trunk that was still in perfect condition, indicating some sort of preservation spell having been used at some point. To his relief he found that his mother kept all of her school textbooks as well as notes from classes. This of course made homework his next priority and that was also quickly finished. Once that was out of the way, Harry began reading his mother's diaries. There was one for every year since she came to Hogwarts. Harry was pretty sure that he now knew his mother very well, while James was still just a person he looked a lot like and that apparently was not even his father. This baffled the young boy, how could he look like James Potter if he was not the man's son. So in order to understand things better the raven haired boy went back to reading the diary.

_[Dear Diary,_

_I can't even wait until tomorrow to write this down. I did it. I had sex with the younger brother of my husband's best friend. And though I feel bad for doing this to James, I can't make myself regret this. To be quite frank – this was the best sex I've ever had. While Regulus is two years younger than James & I, when it comes to giving pleasure to a woman, he is a god. We've spent four hours in bed. I think I had more orgasms tonight than through my whole marriage to James. If Sirius is as good as his brother, than I can understand all the girls… and some boys clinging to him. I can't be 100% sure that he got me pregnant, but I have a positive feeling about the whole deed. And if I'm totally honest with myself, I wouldn't mind a repeat performance. Until next time…_

_20. 10. 1979.]_

Harry stared at the page, blushing furiously. It was almost certain that he was this Regulus' son and he couldn't understand how he felt about it.

_[Dear Diary,_

_Today it's confirmed. I'm pregnant with Regulus' child. The mediwitch confirmed it, I'm expecting a son and he'll only be a week and 2 days younger than my Harry would have been and unlike Harry, this child of mine will be a pureblood, the heir of Black._

_21. 10. 1979.]_

Harry sighed as he put the diary onto the table. This made it official – he was not a Potter, which meant that he was most likely under some sort of charm to make him look like James Potter. Then there was the fact that he was pureblood. This made him wonder if perhaps he could move out from the Dursleys, if they really had no blood in common.

The boy glanced at the Hogwarts letter that also came that week. He only needed to by the ridiculous amount of books by some Gilderoy Lockheart. 7 books of the same author – it was really stupid. And then there were clothes. He wanted some normal clothes to wear under his robes. After all he was an heir to a pureblood family, whatever that entailed.

_'I really have a lot of things to figure out…'_ – thought Harry – _'And I better do it before school begins…'_

Later that week Harry finally decided to go to Diagon Alley. He searched through the box with the names of his parents on it and found some clothes, as well as books, documents and a bit money, which was by far the most useful one, well not counting the folder that held copies of his parents' will and his own birth certificate... two of them, one with the name Harry James Potter and the other under Antares Regulus Black. As James' clothes were much too big for him, Harry decided to hit at least one muggle clothing store and finally get himself some well-deserved clothes.

That day many people were confused by the 12 year old child shopping for himself, but thankfully word did not get to one very manipulative Headmaster who would certainly have kittens if he learned that his pawn was becoming independent.


	2. Learning Some New Things

**CHAPTER ONE.**

The first thing the boy noticed when he entered the 'Leaky Cauldron' under his Invisibility Cloak, not caring for the embarrassing spectacle that happened the last time he came here, was the Weasley family. And they were very different from what he remembered. Not in appearance, mind you, but their behavior was absolutely atrocious, at least Harry thought it was. Ron, his friend, was complaining in a very Malfoy-like fashion, while his mother was trying to talk sense into him. Harry got rather curious about this uncharacteristic behavior and crept closer so that he could hear what the scene was about.

"Mom, why do I have to dress like this?" – whined Ronald – "I mean Headmaster Dumbledore gives enough money for coddling that idiot Potter!"

"Now, Ron…" – sighed the Weasley matriarch – "You very well know that the money we get comes from that brat's vaults. Should you two have a falling out, the 'donations' will stop at once. Or did the headmaster not explain this to you? ... At any rate, it's not safe to discuss things like that out in the open. You never know who could be listening."

As the red-heads moved to the Alley entrance, Harry let a strangled gasp escape him, as he sagged against the wall. His friend, the first friend he had, was actually bought by the headmaster using his own money… it was mind blowing, even worse than finding out your parents are not who you expected them to be.

Harry had no idea how long he spent just sitting there, staring at nothing in particular, but finally he forced himself to get up and enter the Alley.

_'Well,' _– thought the boy – _'Who knew that Malfoy would turn out to be right. Some wizarding families are really better than others. I wonder if it's too late to become friends with him, or if I still have chance?'_

* * *

Diagon Alley was as busy as the last time Harry had been here. But this time the boy finally had time to really appreciate his surroundings. He knew he really should go to Gringotts first, but he really wanted to enjoy himself, so Harry just wandered from one shop to another, looking at all different things on display. Finally after several hours of simply wasting time, the boy managed to drag himself to the bank.

Thankfully there were very few people at the bank, so Harry took off the hat he used to cover his scar and approached the first goblin he saw.

"Hello…" – he called out anxiously. The counter was very high, the goblins with their very short height, were obviously overcompensating and it made Harry, who was rather short for his 12 years, felt dwarfed.

A few moments later a goblin came into his field of vision. The creature looked at the seemingly empty space and then looked down at him: "Yes? How can Gringotts be of assistance?"

It was obvious that the creature didn't take him seriously and was simply humoring the child, but Harry didn't take offence, after all usually a child of his age would be accompanied by parents or guardians at the very least. This brought a very funny image of aunt Petunia in a bank full of wizards and goblins. He fought very hard not to laugh: "I am Harry Potter. I would like to see if there is some sort of test to see if I am entitled to anything apart from the vault that Hagrid had the key to. And perhaps to see my parents' will."

As expected his name did get a reaction from the creature, though thankfully not the sort of awed gaping he received from random wizards and witches.

The young wizard made a mental note to research this killing curse that made him so famous and see if he could come up with some sort of explanation for what happened the night his parents were killed… besides Dumbledore's 'your mother's love saved you'. Obviously the child didn't tell the headmaster just what he thought of his explanation, being slightly overwhelmed by the Sorcerer's stone fiasco, but the summer with the Dursleys was at least good in the way of giving him time to go over the events again and draw his own conclusions instead of just relying on the things that were told to him. Harry blinked when the goblin once more appeared above the huge counter:

"This here is an Inheritance Potion, Mr. Potter. It costs 10 galleons per vial. You have to add seven drops of your blood to it and wait for an hour. After that pour the potion on any paper, actually any flat surface will do. Of course for an additional galleon, we can give you a roll of special paper used for making Family Trees. It is enchanted in such a way that it will grow along with the information the potion draws from your blood. After the entire tree becomes visible, the paper will become framed. You can than put the completed tree on the wall, or anywhere you like."

Harry stared at the creature in silence as his brain processed the information given to him. As he understood it, he could do it at home, which would mean that he didn't need to tell the entire world about his parentage just yet:

"So than how will I be able to claim whatever turns up, how will I know that there is something to claim?" – he asked in confusion.

The goblin rolled his eyes, which in Harry's opinion looked rather funny, but explained none the less:

"That is done separately from creating a family tree. In fact you can do it right now, if you have the time. Just take this quill and right your name with it. I should warn you though that this is a blood quill and it uses your blood instead of ink. After you write down your name a list of vaults and other properties that are entitled to you will appear under your name. Mind you most of them will probably available to you after you are recognized as an adult in the wizarding world."

Potter frowned, as he accepted the quill. He wondered if he should write Harry Potter, or Antares Black. Then he decided to go with Harry Potter, since he probably would have to explain a lot of things he was not comfortable with. Also the goblin said that it would only produce a list of things he could inherit, not explain why he was inheriting them. With a mental nod, he accepted the parchment from the goblin and carefully wrote down his full name. He knew it would write in his blood, but was unprepared for the pain that shot through his hand.

Being no stranger to pain, however, the boy finished writing quickly and gave the quill back to the goblin. The creature then gave him a potion and Harry was surprised to see that as soon as he drank it, both the pain and the slight bleeding stopped, leaving his hand completely unblemished. The boy made a note to look up some easy Potions books to understand the subject better because if he was honest it was fairly interesting and he really wanted to show professor Snape that he was not a stupid dunderhead.

Finally the goblin indicated for him to follow it to a nearby office, which Harry did, eager to know what they found out, but slightly confused about the sudden relocation.

* * *

The office he found himself in was huge. Apart from that, it was furniture with taste, though everything was slightly bigger than Harry thought necessary for goblins. The boy didn't have much time to consider his surroundings, since he was pushed into the chair in front of the desk occupied by yet another goblin, this one visibly larger and older than the one Harry was dealing with before. The paper with his name was in front of the goblin and the creature was closely studying the boy, making Harry want to fidget but thankfully he managed to remain visibly composed.

"Good day, Mr. Potter." – said the unknown goblin – "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

Harry gulped nervously:

"Yes, let's…"

The creature looked through the list and chuckled, which was not a pleasant sound at all Harry decided:

"Well, this is quite the list, most impressive for one as young as you."

That said, the goblin, whose name Sharpclaw as the plaque on his desk suggested, slid the list towards Harry. The boy took one look and his eyes bugged out:

"Holy Merlin…" – he yelped, all thoughts of proper behaviour thrown out of the window, as he scanned the list that was probably longer than his Hogwarts list – "This is all mine?"

Sharpclaw gave him a horrid grimace that was probably meant to be a smile:

"Yes, young Potter. You're about to become one of our wealthiest clients."

"Wow…" – he whispered and then cleared his throat, blushing slightly – "What do I need to sign to be recognized as the owner of all of this?"

For his enthusiastic question, the boy was rewarded with another horrible smirk that showed entirely too many teeth:

"Girphook will be here momentarily with the signet rings, all you need to do is try them on. If they accept you, it will mean that you've inherited the corresponding inheritance and title, if not… well, that depends on the ring and its' magic, though nothing lethal or permanent."

Harry gulped as he heard that, not the least bit assured. However this was not something he was willing to pass up just because he was nervous.

* * *

**Author's Note: And I think I'll stop right here. See you in the next chapter =) And don't forget to press that blue button that says 'review' =)**


	3. Things To Do, People To See

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

"Girphook will be here momentarily with the signet rings, all you need to do is try them on. If they accept you, it will mean that you've inherited the corresponding inheritance and title, if not… well, that depends on the ring and its' magic, though nothing lethal or permanent."

Harry gulped as he heard that, not the least bit assured. However this was not something he was willing to pass up just because he was nervous.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO.**

As a tray with rings was placed in front of Harry, he took a deep breath and glanced at Sharpclaw:

"So I just have to put on every one of them?"

The goblin simply nodded and Potter picked the first ring. It was a rather large golden signet ring with a roaring lion engraved on it. The boy put it on and saw how it shrank to fit his finger. He glanced at the goblin, who was nodding to himself:

"Yes, that's all in order, the easiest one first. As expected the Potter signet ring recognized you as the Lord of the family."

Harry nodded mutely, while on the inside he made a note to make the family tree that very day, since he was not a Potter by blood and he wanted to understand how he was able to inherit. He then picked up the silver ring with the letter 'B' encircled by a serpent engraved on it. This one had pretty much the same reaction as the Potter one, only this time the boy felt some pretty intense tingling in his eyes and the world around him became rather blurry.

"The hell?" – he yelped as he took off his glasses to clean them. He was soon shocked to realize that as soon as he took off the glasses, he could see everything perfectly – "Wow… this is so wicked!"

The excited boy turned to look at the goblin, who was studying him with a small frown:

"Was this supposed to happen?"

Sharpclaw shrugged:

"Well, not this per say, but it is said that the Black signet ring removes small restrictive hexes previously cast on the wearer. It will also protect you from mental intrusions, though I have no idea to what level."

Harry didn't completely understand what the goblin meant, but the fact that someone had previously cursed him to have bad eyesight was obvious and the young wizard didn't like it one bit. He added this to his mental list if things to figure out and slipped on the next ring. It was a rather plain looking silver band with some inscription on the inside that Harry had no idea how to read.

Thankfully this time nothing seemed to change.

The goblin nodded at the boy to put on the last ring without giving any sort of comment, so Harry went along, deciding that asking questions would have to wait. The last band was made of white gold and was incrusted with small snakes made of emeralds. When Harry put it on, he felt a slight resistance, but it passed quickly.

Now wearing two rings on his left hand and two on his right hand, the boy faced the goblin:

"So what families are the two other rings for? The Potter and the Black ones were obvious, but what are these two?"

Sharpclaw smirked and Harry once again fought the impulse to cringe at the sight:

"Well, the golden ring with the snakes on it is the Gaunt family signet ring. And you should know young men, that that family was the last known line of Slitherin's descendants. They're all dead now, so you probably got it through a distant relation. If you have a family tree, you can search there. The other ring is that of the Flamel family. Not as distinguished as the Potter, or Black families, but due to Nicolas' long life it is very rich. As with the Gaunts, the Flamel family has no surviving members of the main branch. As you already know you are the last Potter, but the Black family is a very large one and once you're recognized as the Head of the Family, which will happen when you claim your Wizengamot seat, you will be in charge of the lot of them."

This made Harry frown. He would have to go public with the fact that his father was not James Potter. The idea made him slightly uncomfortable and he had no idea why, since he didn't even remember the man, which was rather weird. None the less he gave Sharpclaw a polite smile:

"How do I go about getting keys for the vaults? And how do I find out if there are any properties that belong to me?"

The goblin once again rolled his eyes:

"You show the rings at the counter and tell them that you want an inventory list. If you're in a hurry they can mail it to you. The vaults will open to you without a key, since you have been accepted by the signet rings. You can also make a wizard card at the counter if you don't want to lug around a lot of money. It works like the muggle credit card. They will take the necessary money from your vault when you give the card. It will work only for you, so have no fear of losing it, or it being stolen."

Harry nodded, feeling a bit like an idiot:

"Thank you for your time, Master Sharpclaw."

* * *

When Harry exited the bank, he sighed with relief and headed for Madam Malkin's robe shop.

_'Who knew getting an inheritance would be this tiring?'_ – he thought as he walked through the crowd to his destination – _'At least now I know that I'm really financially independent. Though I will have to ask the goblins to look into that thing about Weasleys getting money from my vault…' _

As soon as he thought about that, his mood soured even more, so he decided to leave unpleasant musings for later. He walked into Madam Malkin's and looked around. Like last year, there was a lot of Hogwarts students present, even though it was the beginning of August.

A shop attendant walked up to him with a friendly smile:

"Welcome to Madam Malkin's! How can we help you today?"

Harry gave the woman a friendly smile while he recalled all the things he needed:

"Hello, nice to meet you. I need six Hogwarts robes, four thin, two thick. A scarf in Gryffindor colours, a pair of gloves, and five neck-ties also in Gryffindor colours. Then I'll need five casual robes, one black with the Potter crest, one black with the Black crest on it, two green robes with silver trim and three black ones with silver trim. Then ten silk shirts: three black, three green, three blue and one white. Five pairs of trousers, all black. Ten pairs of socks, all black and ten pairs of boxers also black… and some handkerchiefs with 'H. J. P.' in the upper right corner."

The woman blinked a few times, not expecting a sizeable order from a kid that looked like he was around ten years old, but as soon as the Potter crest and the H.J.P. clicked in her brain, she scurried off to right down the order and get a seamstress to measure to boy.

The next hour or so was in Harry's opinion even worse than the time spent in Gringotts. He was measured in all places, to his utter embarrassment they even took the crotch measurement…. twice! Then he had to answer all sorts of questions about colours and materials. Since he never had to think about these things before, he was forced to admit he had close to no idea what the differences between the materials were. Thus he got a lecture and a show for free. In the end he settled on acromantula silk, since even he knew it was the best there was.

While the ordeal was a tiring one, since he had close to no idea to the details about the things he wanted, Harry came to the conclusion that having people do things for you for a change was a very nice feeling.

* * *

After paying for the order with his new wizard card and arranging for the delivery to his attic at Privet Drive, Harry made his way to 'Flourish & Blotts', which was unusually crowded. Near the entrance was a sign that said that Gilderoy Lockheart was signing his books that day. Young Potter fought hard against the urge to run away.

_'Oh, great…'_ – he sighed to himself – _'This is exactly the sort of thing I don't need right now.'_

He crept into the shop and dashed behind the nearest shelf, letting out a sigh of relief when no one shouted something like 'Look! That's Potter!'. The shelf he took refuge behind was dedicated to Wizarding Customs & Traditions. The first thought that entered Harry's mind was something along the lines 'Oh great, pureblood propaganda!', but then he paused and frowned, trying to understand when exactly he stopped wanting to learn about the wizarding world and just why did his thoughts sound disturbingly like Ronald Weasley. Having realized just how much unlike himself he was behaving, Harry began looking through the titles of the books on the shelf in front of him, picking up those that either looked important to know, or those that sounded interesting.

He was so focused on the task at hand, that he bumped into a wizard that rounded the corner without Harry noticing him, since his stack of books was getting rather big rather quickly. The boy was ready to say hello to the floor, but to his surprise the man he bumped into caught him around the waist, stopping him mid-fall. He looked up at his savior and promptly blushed.

_'Crap this really is not something I need right now!'_ – the thought ran though his mind, as he hurriedly apologized for bumping into the man.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yep, a small cliffie for you guys. How do you think who did Harry walk into? Well, read the next chapter of 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord' to find out...**  
**and don't forget to review =)**


	4. Some Questions Answered, Some Not Yet

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

He was so focused on the task at hand, that he bumped into a wizard that rounded the corner without Harry noticing him, since his stack of books was getting rather big rather quickly. The boy was ready to say hello to the floor, but to his surprise the man he bumped into caught him around the waist, stopping him mid-fall. He looked up at his savior and promptly blushed.

_'Crap this really is not something I need right now!'_ – the thought ran though his mind, as he hurriedly apologized for bumping into the man.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE.**

One thing Lucius did not expect when he left his son to his own devices and went to pick up some books for his youngest, was to bump into Harry Potter. Of course he heard a lot of things about the boy from Draco. It was practically the only thing his son talked about in his letters 'Potter this, Potter that'. However the boy Lucius saw in front of him now was not what he expected to see. Draco always said that Potter liked dressing like a muggle and didn't give a hoot about how he looked and now Lucius began wondering just how Draco became so biased, or if perhaps something happened to the boy during the summer. He was also surprised to see the child picking up books about wizarding culture, though this was of course a very pleasant surprise. When the wizard saw how immersed in his task the boy was, he probably should have stepped back to avoid collision, but Lucius stood his ground and thus was ready to catch the boy when he inevitably walked into the Malfoy lord.

"Well…" – drawled the man – "You really should be a bit more careful…"

The child looked up at him and promptly blushed:

"Sorry, sir..." – his eyes fixed somewhere on his chest level – "I didn't see you there."

Lucius knew he should sneer at the child for the impoliteness, but he was not actually the arse people thought he was and there was no one to see him behave like a real human being, so he smiled instead:

"Well, no harm done.

young one. That's a lot of books. Are you looking for something more in depth? Or just getting acquainted with our culture?"

Harry blinked a few times, before shaking off the strange feeling that almost paralyzed him when he looked into the man's eyes that were like pools of liquid silver:

"Thank you for catching me, sir." – he cleared his throat since his voice seemed a bit breathless to him – "I'm just looking for general information at the moment… that and hiding from the reporters…" The last part was murmured very quietly, but Lucius was standing very close to Harry and heard him perfectly well. He gave the child another smile, which made the boy blush once more much to Lucius' amusement.

"Oh? Is fame not to your liking, young lord Potter?" – he asked the child, with a very amused look in his silver eyes.

Harry scowled slightly at the mention of his fame and then glanced at the man once more:

"Not really." – he ground out – "I would prefer to have my family back, Mr. …"

Lucius inclined his head:

"Lucius Malfoy, young one. And of course you would want your parent back that is only natural, but since it is quite impossible, you should learn to deal with what you have and not hide behind book shelves." The last part was clearly teasing, so Harry huffed just a bit annoyed. He could not believe that this man was actually related to Draco, though the longer he thought about his school mate while looking at Lucius, the more resemblance he saw between the two. This was his chance to mend the bridge between the Malfoys and himself, Harry decided.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Malfoy…" – he smiled – "Draco often speaks of you."

Harry wanted to say something else, when a commotion was head from the other side of the shop. Both wizards went to check it out, Harry making a point to stay behind Lucius' tall frame, so that he wouldn't be noticed, much to the amusement of the elder Malfoy.

The scene that greeted them was not a nice one. Ronald Weasley was facing Draco Malfoy, both spouting rather nasty words. Ron's parents were nowhere in sight and thus Lucius had to intervene himself. A glance backwards told him that Harry had already hid behind another shelf, but had a rather good view of the scene. Lord Malfoy wondered, why the boy did not hurry to help his friend, but pushed the thought to the back of his mind for further pondering at a later time and slipped on his public mask.

From his place behind the shelf on Wizarding Laws, also a useful shelf for his extra reading, Harry marvelled at how Lord Malfoy changed from the nice and beautiful man he just met into a high and mighty pureblood lord. The boy made a note to develop some sort of mask for himself, since it may be useful at some point. He then enjoyed watching how Lucius verbally ripped Ronald a new one. It was all done with proper words and perfectly impassive expression on his face, but he clearly saw Ron practically shrinking on himself. He had to admit that if he had a father like that, he would also like to brag about him. When finally Ron's parents showed up, Lucius gracefully made his exit… only after making a jab at Arthur Weasley as well. Had Harry not overheard the conversation between Molly and her son at the Leaky Cauldron that morning, he would have defended them against the Malfoys, but with things being the way they were, he decided Lucius was absolutely correct about what he said to both Ron and his father.

Young lord Potter than picked up some more books from the Legislation section and stealthily moved to the Potions one. By this time he could barely hold the books in his hands, so he was forced to go up to the counter and ask for a bottomless bag with a feather-weight charm on it. The clerk placed his books into the book and said that Harry could leave them at the counter while he picked up whatever else he needed. After thanking the man, Harry picked out a few Potion texts and his school books. Thankfully he managed to get out of the shop without being noticed by the Weasleys, or worth – reporters.

* * *

When Harry finally returned to Privet Drive, he was glad to see, that no one even noticed his absence. He pulled out all his new belongings and carefully placed everything into the new trunk he bought, since his old one didn't have enough space for his books and was not charmed like this one was.

After that was done, he touched the snake that was engraved on the lid of the trunk and the charms that were built in activated, instantly shrinking the trunk to at least its' half size. In such a state Harry easily pushed it under the table so that it wouldn't stand out. Even though it was pretty late, Harry wasn't sleepy at all, so he decided to continue reading his mother's journal, hoping that some new pieces of information would show up.

_[Dear Diary,_

_James came back a couple of days ago. The mission was a really long one; he was gone for two months! Oh well, it happens. The first night he came back we made love… and Merlin it was nowhere near what I had with Regulus. I really should have listened to Narci and waited longer before I agreed to marry James. I actually had to fake my orgasm… I feel like some sort of whore!_

_25. 10. 1979.]_

Harry had no idea what an orgasm was, but since the entry was about making love, he theorized that an orgasm must be a part of the process. He made a face at even thinking about his mother making love with anyone at all and hurried to read the next part.

_[Dear Diary,_

_Yesterday James was gone all day, running some errand for Albus. Merlin, why can't he see that the old man is just using him, using all of us to his own goals? Oh, well, as long as their Order of Phoenix doesn't come anywhere near me and my child, I can't say I care what they're up to._

_On a happier note, I wrote Regulus today and told him I was pregnant. I have yet to hear from him of course, but I'm sure he will be as happy as I am._

_29. 10. 1979.]_

Now this Harry decided, was a proper diary entry. Not too detailed and not overly persona, but it allowed him to get to know his mother better. All last year, he recalled, people would always tell him how much he looked like James and how he had his mother's eyes. And this was a mystery he hoped his mother's journal would solve – why the heck did he look like James Potter when the man was not even his father? He glanced at the window and smiled slightly. Even though he didn't like the Dursleys one bit, he could live like this… as long as they left him alone and he didn't need to look at their ugly mugs.

He picked up the diary and a candle and made way to his bed. It wasn't even a bed strictly speaking, just a mattress, a pillow and a blanket, but Harry liked it, for it was rather comfortable. He placed the candle on a small box nearby so as not to turn it over accidentally, stripped down to his boxers and lay down to do some more reading before sleep.

_[Dear Diary,_

_The last couple of months I was very busy throwing up every morning, so I really was not in the mood for writing. The pregnancy is coming long perfectly fine; the last trip to St. Mungoe's told me that I'm expecting a son again. I know James wants to call the baby Harry, to honour his grandfather Harold. But he doesn't know that little Harry is dead. No, like Regulus and I decided, we'll have to make two certificates for the baby. One, the real one that is, will have the name Antares Regulus Black on it, while the fake one will be under the name Harry James Potter. That also brings me to another problem I may face. If my son turns out to look like me, than it won't be a problem, but if he favours Regulus in looks, then I'll have I'll have to use the glamour charm I worked on at Hogwarts, the one based on blood. It will have to be redone when the kid becomes 12, otherwise the glamour will slowly fade and by the time he turns 13 he will look like his true self._

_30. 01. 1980.]_

Harry smiled to himself – mystery number one was solved. A glance at an old clock that he found in his mother's trunk and that was probably enchanted so that it wouldn't stop told him that it was already midnight. Harry yawned quietly and stuffed the diary under his pillow. After putting out the candle the green eyed boy curled on his side and slowly nodded off into the realm of dreams.

* * *

**Author's Note: And let's stop here for now. Hopefully I should have the next chapter up soon as well, so stay with me.**


	5. And To Hogwarts We Go

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Harry smiled to himself – mystery number one was solved. A glance at an old clock that he found in his mother's trunk and that was probably enchanted so that it wouldn't stop told him that it was already midnight. Harry yawned quietly and stuffed the diary under his pillow. After putting out the candle the green eyed boy curled on his side and slowly nodded off into the realm of dreams.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR.**

The rest of the summer went on in a similar fashion. Having finished his homework with the help of the new text books, Harry had plenty of free time. He found it strange, that when he was alone he liked spending time reading, but whenever Ronald was around Harry always picked goofing off over studying. Well, he promised himself, this year would be different. He, unlike Ron, was an heir and soon to be Lord of two very rich families, as well as another even more ancient and one not very known but none the less very wealthy family.

The Family Tree which was hanging on the wall at this point seemed very interesting to Harry and he wanted to know more about the people on it. He recalled Sharpclaw telling him that he would be in charge of the Black family. The books he bought on laws and traditions helped a lot. Even though Harry didn't exactly understand all the things he read about, he made sure to remember all of them and maybe ask some purebloods at Hogwarts about the things that confused him… or maybe even write mister Malfoy and ask him, after all that would be less awkward than asking people his own age.

_'Well, tomorrow I'll finally go back to Hogwarts…'_ – thought Harry, as he placed his mother's journal, the photo album Hagrid gave him and his invisibility cloak into the trunk. His old trunk was still in the cupboard under the stairs but since he had everything he needed in hand, he decided not to remind the Dursleys of his presence in their house.

_'I really need to figure out what to do about Ron. It's true that they're taking money for keeping tabs on me… my money at that. No way am I going to forgive them for that. But what if I break things up with Ron and Dumbledore chooses someone else? I guess better a spy I already know about than someone else entirely. On the other hand – how am I supposed to mend fences with Malfoy if I'm still friendly with Weasley? I guess this calls for some Slitherin manoeuvring.'_

With nothing better to do, Harry spent the day lounging about. He spent a few hours picking out the outfit for the next day, wanting to start the new school year presentably. He also noticed that his hair was slowly becoming more manageable, which in itself was a blessing. Without his glasses on Harry could see that the shape of his eyes and mouth were certainly from his mother. Young Potter also was pleased to note that he was finally beginning to look like a proper 12 year old boy, not some nine or even eight year old kid.

Of course he had no idea how much his looks would change over the course of the next year, but he was glad that it was a long process rather than an abrupt change that would be much more noticeable and harder to explain.

* * *

The next day saw Harry practically skipping away from Privet Drive as soon as the sun rose. He ordered Hedwig to meet him at the castle and thus only had an empty cage, which he placed atop the half-sized trunk. He was really glad that this trunk looked more like a muggle trunk in its' shrunken state, it even had small wheels, which made it easier to move around than the typical wizarding trunk it actually was underneath the spells.

_'Finally,'_ – thought the boy as he caught a cab to Kings' Cross – _'No more Muggles for the year. Wish I find a place to stay during the summer holidays that would be really wizard.'_

During the drive to the station, Harry busied himself with looking at the city, since he never really saw much of it before. And if he was honest with himself, and he most certainly tried very hard to be just that, London, or at least its' muggle part did not impress him. And he knew perfectly well that he was quite impressionable, what with having to grow up in a cupboard. As he looked out of the windows at the passing buildings and streets all he saw was more and more muggles. He wondered how many of them were like Vernon and Petunia and how many others would become like them if they knew about magic. This train of thought brought him somewhere unexpected – he began thinking about Voldemort. Potter's first reaction was to shudder and switch to something more pleasant, like the dressing down Ronald got from Lucius Malfoy, but then he paused and frowned as another thing that should have been obvious occurred to him. Why the heck did the Dark Lord Voldemort try to kill him? He recalled the tripe Dumbledore told him and his already very low opinion of the headmaster dropped even lower. He realized that everything he's been told was that Voldemort killed his parents and tried but failed to kill him. He knew absolutely nothing about the man. Did he truly want to kill him? Or did it have more to do with his parents? What did being a Dark Lord mean? Did it mean anything real, or was it just a fancy title? Who was Voldemort really? What did the man try to achieve?

The boy was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice that they arrived at the station. With a sheepish smile he paid for the ride and hurried off to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. It was still very early, somewhere around 9 and so the platform was practically empty, which was not surprising since the train was scheduled to leave at 11. Even though it was quite early, the train itself was already at the station, so Harry boarded at once and sat down in one of the compartments that were usually left empty, since they were between those traditionally occupied by the Slytherin house and those of the Gryffindor house.

He placed his trunk on the seat next to him, since he really didn't want any company and pulled out one of his new books on Potions. This one was called 'Your basic Potion Ingredients and how to work with them'. Mr. Blotts was rather surprised when Harry Potter of all people bought a book that children usually read even before going to Hogwarts. He didn't even consider the fact that Harry was raised by muggles. It really annoyed the raven haired boy, but it was a rather common reaction so he tried very hard to not pay it any attention. The young wizard had already finished reading it once and was now just revising the places he couldn't quite remember. After reading the book, he felt like a real idiot. He could have avoiding making an ass of himself in Snape's class if he bothered to pick out some extra reading before his first year, but oh well he'd simply have to work hard to catch up now. This decision made, Harry glanced out of the window and saw that it was almost 11 already. Time sure did fly fast.

He saw Lucius Malfoy say his good byes to his Draco. The Weasleys were also there. Now that he observed all of them from a distance, he could clearly see that the oldest children looked more like their father, while Ron and his little sister definitely took more after Molly. Harry looked at the huge family and decided that just because three of them were in Dumbledore's pocket was not enough reason to shun the lot of them. He figured he could find a way to see if the others shared their siblings' benefits and then decide if he wanted to be friends with the other Weasleys. Until then he would keep his distance but be polite about it.

_'I really thought having siblings would make him want to do better, but I guess he thinks being paid money to be someone's friend is a good way to live…' _– mused Harry still slightly miffed about Ron spying on him – _'I will have to be careful and not let anyone realize that know he's spying on me… That shouldn't be too hard…'_

Finally the train began moving and Harry was still alone in his compartment. If he listened hard enough, he could head Draco laugh with his friends in the next compartment. Oh and there was Ronald stomping past and muttering about snakes taking up too much space. This made Harry snicker softly and wonder if the ginger head would ever grow up, not that he actually cared. Satisfied with the fact that he most likely wouldn't be disturbed Harry went back to reading.

* * *

**Author's Note: Slightly shorter than the previous one, but I find the initial inspiration slowly drifting away. I would like to thank Kutiepie1 and Tricorvus for the best reviews I've gotten so far, as well as Redstickbonbon and KSIJ. **  
**Let me know what you think of it please. Draco hugs with a Neville on top to those who don't forget to hit the blue button with the 'review' on it =)**


	6. Of Sorting Songs And Friends

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Finally the train began moving and Harry was still alone in his compartment. If he listened hard enough, he could head Draco laugh with his friends in the next compartment. Oh and there was Ronald stomping past and muttering about snakes taking up too much space. This made Harry snicker softly and wonder if the ginger head would ever grow up, not that he actually cared. Satisfied with the fact that he most likely wouldn't be disturbed Harry went back to reading.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE.**

Strange as it was, Harry managed to remain undisturbed for the entire trip. Well, he was eventually discovered by Neville, but his fellow Gryffindor was so timid that it wasn't even funny. Harry wondered why the Longbottom heir was like that. After all it's not like his own grandmother would treat him the way the Dursleys treated Harry. The two boys spent their time on the train talking and getting to know each other. Harry did his best to give Neville a much needed confidence boost, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded or not. He was quite surprised when the other boy told him that his wand was in fact that of Frank Longbottom and not really his own. This, Harry figured, was most likely the reason for Neville's abysmal work in classes where wand work was essential. From the remarkable progress Neville had in Herbology Potter knew that it was certainly not lack of intelligence that made the other boy such a poor student. Thus he made it his pet project to help the other boy. Harry had no idea why it was that he decided to help Neville (and Neville himself certainly was not even aware that Harry did decide to help him) but for some reason the Longbottom boy made him feel protective, like one would feel about a younger sibling, no matter that Neville was actually one day older than Harry. Obviously Harry wanted to find a person who would take care of him and help him, but since that seemed improbable at this point in time he would do his utmost best to at least help Neville.

As the two boys rode a carriage pulled by winged horses no one but the two of them seemed to see Harry once again recalled his meeting with Lord Malfoy. While he knew that the man most likely had a rather unpleasant public mask, just like his son Draco did, Harry had seen at least one side of the man behind the mask and he fervently wished that he could learn to be like Lucius – a respected pureblood Lord. And while he did not ask Neville's opinion, in his no one who had the position of power should shrink their duties. Thus he decided to do his best, both for his sake and Neville's.

Finally they reached the castle. It was just in time, Harry thought, since Neville was just about ready to fall asleep. Giving the other boy a nudge in the ribs, Potter hurried to join the other students in the Great Hall with Neville hot on his heels. As soon as they settled down the two young wizards were accosted by Harry's friends from first year – Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. While the girl seemed to be generally concerned for her friend, the carrot head was so angry at being ignored that he was practically foaming at the mouth, which made both Harry and Neville cringe in disgust. How he ever became Harry's friend was a question worth discussing… at least Neville Longbottom thought it prudent to figure out, after all Harry was nothing like the always boasting rude and all round lazy idiot that was Ronald Weasley. Hermione, Neville mused, was better… but not by much. Having been raised by his Gran made Neville very aware of how the Muggles and even worse, Muggleborns, affect the Wizarding World. The otherwise very timid boy was sure that had Harry known, he would not be friends with the overly bossy know-it-all that looked like an escapee from the Ravenclaw Tower, if not St. Mungoe's... The boy blinked as this though entered his mind. He couldn't believe it. It was just not like him to dislike a person like that… well, to be sure no one simply could be as nasty as his granduncle, but still… come to think of it, he never really liked Ron either. Of course Neville just chalked it up to him being jealous that Harry Potter of all people would pick a Weasley and a muggleborns as his best friends. Not like he thought they were bad people of course, but they just rubbed him the wrong way, Ron more so than Granger.

Soon after they all settled down McGonagall brought in the first years and they all listened to yet another song by the Sorting Hat.

**_Welcome children you should feel_**

**_For Hogwarts your home will be now_**

**_To some the second, to some the first_**

**_But a home still to all_**

**_It was created long ago_**

**_By four greatest mages that I've seen_**

**_There was the Gryffindor by name of Godric,_**

**_He was brave and liked heroics,_**

**_Though unfortunately a bit on the dumb side_**

**_The Hufflepuff, Helga was her name,_**

**_Was warm and fair as the sun_**

**_She liked children very much,_**

**_Her house is for those loyal, hardworking and honest._**

**_The Ravenclaw, Rovena, chose those who were like her_**

**_Clever, studious, who like research more than people;_**

**_And there was Slytherin. Salazar was his name._**

**_And though stories tell differently, dark he certainly was not_**

**_Into his house he chose the best, those who wanted to succeed in life,_**

**_Those cunning and ambitious to reach for what they want._**

**_So like I said, put me on and I'll decide _**

**_Where your home here shall be._**

As soon as the Hat finished the song, which in Harry's opinion that was no doubt shared by many other students sounded rather strange this year, the deputy Headmistress began reading the names of the soon to be first years. Even though just a year ago he was part of the same ceremony, Harry couldn't help but think that surely he didn't look as helpless as these kids did. Of course he noticed that only some of these kids were outright scared rather than simply nervous. There was a kid who was clutching a camera, that was certainly muggleborns, Harry decided. Those with the clothes of the better quality were definitely children of the pureblooded families and this year there more of them then when he was sorted. Potter was however unable to pay attention to the ceremony, as the Weasley finally noticed his high quality robes and began harping about them.

"Harry, mate…" – whined the moronic carrot top – "where the hell have you been? I searched the entire train for you."

At that Hermione glared at Weasley, clearly unhappy that he did not sit with her:

"Really Harry, we've not seen each other all summer. You could have come to sit with us."

The Potter heir rolled his eyes, although only Neville noticed the gesture:

"Sorry, I wanted to go over my summer assignments once more to make I sure I didn't accidentally leave anything at the Dursleys. It's not like I tried to hide or anything. Neville managed to find me just fine."

That was of course a jab at Ronald's efforts to find him, but he didn't actually care. He wouldn't outright tell the ginger head that he knew he was a spy, but he sure as hell wouldn't go out of his way to be pleasant either, after all he didn't benefit from being Ron's friend at all.

Hermione frowned slightly:

"Harry, you should have done that before leaving your home. Hogwarts Express is hardly the place for…"

She was than rather rudely interrupted by Ron, who snorted:

"Yeah, like you weren't doing the same thing. Still mate, this isn't like you."

The green eyed boy blinked at the duo:

"Well, Hermione. I find revision to be a better way to pass time than just goofing off. And Ron, please, since when were you such a specialist on my behavior? We've only known each other for 9 months. I hardly think that it's enough time to really get to know another person."

* * *

Up at the professors' table Severus Snape, youngest potions master ever, and also head of the Slytherin house was observing the students. He was rather surprised that this year's batch of first years was mostly Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, his own house got only three new girls and two boys, while Gryffindor had three boys and two girls. All things considered he thought there would be more. But then again the less the amount of students was, the more attention he could pay them.

He then looked to the Slytherin table, where his students were quietly talking to each other. No matter what others thought he was always proud of his snakes, even if no one else was. Then his eyes drifted to the Gryffindor table. He was somewhat surprised to notice that the Potter brat somehow managed to tame that mane he called hair. The boy also wasn't wearing glasses. While the changes were very small, they did the child a lot of good, even made him look more like Lily and not that good for nothing Potter. The man also noticed that for one the boy was dressed properly, which would also explain the way Weasley was making a scene of himself. Severus recalled his latest conversation with Lucius and decided that it wouldn't be a particular hardship to tone down his harassing of the boy. After all there was always plenty of other victims around.

* * *

**Author's Note: And I think I will stop here for now. I really want to know what you people think of this one. I tried my best to right a sorting song that wouldn't be too ridiculous, but in the end this was all I could manage, so I hope it was okay.** **And yes, the first mention of Severus. After much thinking I finally decided that I would go with the Harry / Lucius pairing and try to make Harry to accept his professor as a parental figure.**

**Anyway, don't forget to review =)**


	7. A New Alliance Is Born

**Author's Note: I decided to make the Gryffindor dorms a bit more like those of Slytherin and so the the boys get double rooms =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

He then looked to the Slytherin table, where his students were quietly talking to each other. No matter what others thought he was always proud of his snakes, even if no one else was. Then his eyes drifted to the Gryffindor table. He was somewhat surprised to notice that the Potter brat somehow managed to tame that mane he called hair. The boy also wasn't wearing glasses. While the changes were very small, they did the child a lot of good, even made him look more like Lily and not that good for nothing Potter. The man also noticed that for one the boy was dressed properly, which would also explain the way Weasley was making a scene of himself. Severus recalled his latest conversation with Lucius and decided that it wouldn't be a particular hardship to tone down his harassing of the boy. After all there was always plenty of other victims around.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX.**

When they finally got back to the Gryffindor Tower, Harry was pleased to note that the second year dorms were much different from the huge one they all lived in last year. This year they had separate rooms, not for everyone naturally, but they were separated two to a room and much to Harry's pleasure he was sharing a room with Neville. For one unlike Ronald Neville didn't snore, then there was the fact that Neville was someone Harry actually liked and wanted to be friends with. The Longbottom heir was also pleased to be room-mates with Harry and they spent a nice evening unpacking. They were already in his pyjamas when Ron made it to the dorm and threw a fit as soon as he learned he was not room-mates with Harry. Neville wanted to try and calm him down, but Harry just locked the door and did his best to ignore the ranting of his former best friend.

"Trust me Neville, leaving him be is just about the best thing we can do." – he said with a sigh as he settle down in his bed.

"But Harry, he's your friend."- tried to protest Neville – "It's understandable that he would be upset not to room with you."

Harry gave the boy a kind smile:

"And I would understand it had he really behaved like a friend and not like some jealous git. I didn't even get one letter from him this summer. In my opinion either a person is your friend at all times, or he's not your friend at all. Well, to be honest it's an opinion I've only recently formed, but I think it's a sound one. You know before coming to Hogwarts I was raised by Muggles. Not the most lovable bunch to be sure. I was so happy when I was told I was a wizard that I rushed head first into a totally unknown world." – Harry turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling which was enchanted so that it showed the starry sky instead of just ceiling – "I didn't stop to consider all the new things around me. I met Ron and we went along fine. He didn't find any of the things that I didn't understand strange, so I shrugged them off and just followed him. But this last summer I spent alone. I didn't get one letter from either Ron or Hermione. And the only thing I could do beside homework was thinking and reading. Ron is a nice person to hang out with from time to time, but he just doesn't suit me as a best friend. "

As he spoke, he understood that it was absolutely true, even if it wasn't the whole truth. Harry had no idea why he was telling Neville about this, but then again he figured it wasn't very healthy to keep everything bottled up. At the very least, Harry thought, Neville wouldn't betray him… or so he hoped.

* * *

Morning came sooner than expected and with it came the time tables. As usual all of their classes were with the Slytherins and the work load was pretty intense, though it still left quite a lot of free time. Harry chuckled as he heard Ron grumbling about too many classes, but stopped dead in his tracks as some words caught his ear.

"…How does he think Ginny will get close to that Potter git if we have to do homework through all of our free time?"

Yep, just as he expected the youngest Weasley was in Dumbledore's pocket.

"Ronald," – another painfully familiar voice cut in – "We can't be that obvious! Since you got it into your head that playing the role of his friend didn't include writing him during holidays, now he's angry and probably doesn't think you're really his friend, just another glory seeking idiot!"

_'And yes, that would be Hermione…'_ – thought Harry sadly – _'I wonder how the old bastard got her into this, she's a muggleborns after all…'_

"When I want your opinion, mudblood, I'll ask for it!" – snapped a clearly angry Ron – "What you think you're something special…" – whatever else the idiot wanted to say would remain a mystery forever, since the girl in question clearly didn't appreciate his name calling and like any slighted woman punched the ginger head in the head.

"Don't you ever call me that again, Ronald Billius Weasley!" – she screeched quietly – "My parents may be muggles, but at least they are rich and we have a normal house unlike some people I know!"

Harry blinked. That was definitely Hermione's voice, but what he was hearing was definitely out of character for the girl… or so he thought until now. Knowing that she was in on the 'let's keep tabs on Harry' plan made the boy think in a totally different light about her.

"Well… that would explain why you're not very keen on being friends with them…" – came Neville's voice from behind and Harry jumped with a small 'eep' escaping him, which made the usually timid Neville give him a small mischievous grin – "You should really pay more attention to your surroundings, Harry." – he gently teased the other boy, making Harry gape at him.

"Who are you and what did you do to Neville?" – he questioned confusedly. The fact that other people beside himself could be able to pull off a convincing public mask escaping him for the moment.

"Nothing," – the boy sand calmly, running a hand through him dirty blond hair – "However before I actually explain everything in detail, you will promise not to tell anyone the things I will share with you. In return I will give you a similar promise."

Harry nodded dumbly, his brain going into over shock, which caused a rather strange expression to form on his face, which made Neville snicker softly.

**(Author's Note: Yep, I decided to make Neville awesome. ^.^ Maybe not as awesome as Harry, but very cool none the less. After all, he is the other child of the Prophecy)**

"So is it just a regular promise, or are we going to do something magical?" – asked Harry curiously, as he overcame his shock. He wondered if there were any people who actually were exactly the way they behaved. He felt slightly silly for deciding what sort of person Neville was without even getting to know him better first.

The Longbottom heir was glad that Harry seemed open to the idea of a more binding promise, but as he recalled the conversation they overheard between Ron and Hermione, he realized that this was probably not something Harry wanted to chance getting out. He gave the other boy a small smile. He felt rather weird going without his mask at Hogwarts, after all his Gran always said that Dumbledore would be out to get him if he couldn't get his hands on Harry first, but the old lady never did go into details about what made her think like that and Neville has never been overly curious, so he just did as Gran advised and pretended to be an idiot. Of course this made him have fewer friends than he would have wanted, but didn't mind overly much.

"Well, we could make a blood pledge…" – he said uncertainly. He was of course aware what it meant and knew that Harry probably had no idea, so he explained hastily – "Gran said that it's the way for two wizards, or even two families to form an alliance, to ensure that they wouldn't betray each other, or wouldn't be forced to betray each other."

Harry, while being much more studious that last year and more careful about trusting people, was still very much a Gryffindor. What Neville said appealed to him, the idea of having a friend or at least an ally that would not be able to betray him was a very nice one, so he nodded enthusiastically:

"Sounds good. How do we do it?"

Neville blinked. He expected to answer a lot of questions before and if Harry agreed to do this. But here the Potter heir was once more demonstrating exactly why the Sorting Hat put him into Gryffindor. Still, Neville was not about to ask if he was sure.

"Well, we have to give the promise, then each of us makes a cut across the palm and we shake hands mixing blood and thus making the promise a binding one. Well, at least that's what Gran said."

"Okay, let's do this." – exclaimed Harry eagerly once again making Neville snicker at his obvious eagerness, which Harry noticed and glanced at the floor, flushing darkly – "Sorry. You must think I'm a total idiot. It's just after a year of telling Ron everything I got used to having someone there to talk to, to be able to tell them anything. Of course now I know that trusting him was a mistake, but this thing you're proposing gives me the chance to have that again. You said yourself, we'll be able to tell each other anything and know for sure that we won't betray each other even if we wanted to." His voice was small as he studied the floor. He felt like an idiot for jumping the chance to have what he wanted as soon as it appeared, without even considering all the aspects of the promise they would give each other – "Perhaps we could go to the library and look it up, so what exactly it entails and how it's done…" – he mumbled.

This made Neville give him a smile and Harry snorted as it occurred to him that they've come full circle from how they've been last evening, or at least how he thought they were considering the fact that Neville's home life was apparently better than he thought it was.

* * *

_'Darn it, why doesn't somebody do something about this stupid ghost?'_ – wondered Harry as he tuned out Binns' droning about yet another goblin rebellion and instead watched his classmates. He rolled his eyes when he saw Hermione write down notes and Ron sleeping next to her. The Slytherins were busy passing notes back and forth and periodically one of them would throw something at their professor, who didn't even seem to notice as he droned on and on. Next to Harry Neville was also snoring away, while on his left Seamus was trying to turn water into rum under the table. With a heavy sigh Potter pulled out a random book, which turned out to be their potions textbook and spent the otherwise useless history class reading.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, nothing exciting about this one. I do need to spend some time placing the characters where I want them before I can get to the interesting part =) But don't worry, I'll try to get over the boring stuff as quickly as I can.** **To make things more lively, I've decided to add some pranks into the story. Here's a question for you guys.**

_**Poll 1: What sort of prank should Harry & Neville pull first:**_

**A.** switch the headmaster's lemon drops with glamoured nasty berty botts beans;

**B.** turn Ron green and silver;

**C.** make Hermione turn in assignments written with vanishing ink;

**D.** turn Ginny into a boy for a few days;

**E.** If you feel these are too boring, feel free to PM me with your suggestions.


	8. Potions Wonders And Ron's Blunder

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

_'Darn it, why doesn't somebody do something about this stupid ghost?'_ – wondered Harry as he tuned out Binns' droning about yet another goblin rebellion and instead watched his classmates. He rolled his eyes when he saw Hermione write down notes and Ron sleeping next to her. The Slytherins were busy passing notes back and forth and periodically one of them would throw something at their professor, who didn't even seem to notice as he droned on and on. Next to Harry Neville was also snoring away, while on his left Seamus was trying to turn water into rum under the table. With a heavy sigh Potter pulled out a random book, which turned out to be their potions textbook and spent the otherwise useless history class reading.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN.**

It was Friday morning and Harry was sitting in the Potions classroom, waiting for Snape to arrive. While he waited, he thought about the events of the week. Strange though it was Ron and Hermione didn't bother him all that much… yet. On the other hand he noticed that the red head who could only be Ron's sister was always somewhere around and if he spotted her, she would squeak and run off. Harry found her very odd and Neville didn't help much, instead he just chuckled whenever Harry asked his opinion on the youngest ginger head. Their quest to find out more about the binding they wanted to do was so far unsuccessful, though they did go through pretty much all books that were not in the restricted section, which turned out to be not as hard a task as Harry imagined, though it did make the two friends spend all their free time in the library. Secretly Harry wondered why Hermione hadn't approached him yet, since he'd seen the girl practically every day, but he decided not to worry over it, especially since he wasn't all that keen on talking to her.

Finally the door banged open and Severus Snape strode in, his robes billowing impressively as he walked between the desks.

"Welcome to your second year of Potion making. I will collect the summer assignments at the end of the lesson and for your own sake I hope everybody has done them." – he paused to glower at the students, mainly the Gryffindor ones and Harry in particular – "And now let's see if you retained the knowledge acquired last year… Potter! Where can we get a bezoar?"

The Potter heir nearly jumped at the abruptness of the question, but made sure to answer in a calm and steady voice, though he didn't quite manage to sound as cool as he wanted to:

"A bezoar is a stomach stone that is used to cure most common poisons and can be found inside the stomach of a goat, sir." – the boy tentatively looked at his stern professor and gulped at the sight of those black eyes narrowed and fixed on him.

One thing Severus Snape did not expect was for Harry Potter, dunderhead extraordinaire in his opinion, to answer the question correctly. Of course, he reasoned, there was an off chance that the idiot Potter brat would be able to answer a question that Severus already asked him once before. Thus he continued to question the boy for at least five minutes more. To his utter bewilderment the boy answered all of his questions correctly. This, Severus decided, was weird and unexpected and thus needed to be examined further. Much to his personal displeasure, he grunted:

"Correct, Mr. Potter, 10 point to Gryffindor and stay after class." – he then turned his gaze to the rest of the students, who were openly gawking at him – "Well, what are you dolts waiting for? If you did not know these things, then write down the answers and get to work! The instructions are on the black board."

As Snape left Harry alone, the boy visibly sagged and only Neville's well timed pinch prevented him from going to la-la land in the middle of the class. Obviously, Harry decided, the extra-reading paid off which was a very good thing in his book. He looked at the assignment and saw instructions for the temperature reducing draught written on the black board. This was the first potion their text book discussed and Harry was fairly certain in his ability to brew it correctly. Neville's herbology knowledge would come in handy as well, since the other boy undoubtedly knew more than Harry about the ingredients used in the draught, at least those that were plants.

_'Okay,'_ – Harry thought, as he went to the storage room to take out the necessary ingredients – _'I've read about this one and even about the techniques used in the process. I can and will do this. I don't want Snape to think I'm an incompetent idiot.'_ Mental prep talk done, he carefully gathered the things he needed and promptly returned to his work station to see Neville about to light the fire under the cauldron. He grabbed the other boy's wand hand and hissed under his breath:

"Neville, what are you doing?"

The Longbottom heir flinched as he frowned at Harry:

"What do you mean? I was about to light the fire…"

The brunette scowled lightly. It seemed that Neville's potions skills were not a part of his mask:

"Exactly," – he explained under his breath – "And in this potion the fire needs to be lit after we add the crushed snake fangs, which is three steps away."

Neville bit his lip and mumbled an apology. Harry frowned at this meek gesture as it seemed genuine and not like the confident boy Neville really was:

"What is it, Neville? It's written on the board, how come you didn't notice?"

The question was asked softly and yet Neville really flinched this time:

"I… I just didn't pay attention." – he bit out – "I'll be more careful."

The young Potter heir knew better than to push him, after all he himself never enjoyed Hermione's prodding, but he decided that he needed to know more before he could take any definite actions. Thus the two boys went back to brewing their potion, neither of them noticing Severus Snape standing nearby and also frowning at the new information that he learned and yet couldn't use in any way because it was too random and out of context to really mean anything at this point. As much as he loathed the idea, he needed to keep a closer eye on the two young lions. The new school year, he mused, was getting more and more annoying every day.

* * *

As the last students left the classroom Harry came up to the professor's desk and waited silently for the man to speak. He began fidgeting slightly as the man just sat behind his desk, regarding with a strange expression in his black gleaming eyes. Finally the professor spoke:

"Well, M. Potter, it seems that you're finally beginning to actually apply yourself to my subject." – the words were rather sarcastic, but Harry knew it was not an insult… or at least it didn't feel like one.

"I am trying, sir…" – murmured Harry, not knowing if he should say something or just remain quiet. He knew from his mother's diaries that Snape has been a very good friend of hers and that was the first reason for his reading more on Potions, apart from his own interest.

"Make sure to keep up to today's level," – said Snape – "And you'll be a passable brewer in the end."

Harry nodded, eager to accept even the smallest bits of praise, no matter how grudgingly given.

Snape frowned at the child in front of him. He had no idea where the brat's temper disappeared to and it made his hating Harry that much more difficult. For the first time since the boy appeared in Hogwarts Snape didn't feel the rage that usually consumed him when he saw the brat's mop of hair. That thought made him pause and frown a bit more.

"Where did you glasses go, Mr. Potter?"

It was a random question, one of the few Severus wanted to gain answers to, but he didn't expect Harry to react as strongly as the Potter boy did. The child practically froze in his place, no doubt trying to think up something that could pass for an answer. Before the child even opened his mouth, Severus knew whatever he would say would be a lie.

Harry struggled to say something believable, something that would sound probable. Even though he knew the man in front of him was his mother's best friend despite their fall out in sixth year, he couldn't bring himself to overlook the man's behavior towards himself just for the reason of Harry looking like James Potter. Unfortunately healing, both magical and muggle, was not a subject Harry had knowledge on and thus he barely shrugged, not knowing what to say.

Snape wanted to insist on an answer, but something raw and fleeting that he saw in the boy's green eyes, eyes that reminded him so much Lily, made him stop and change the topic:

"Well, no matter. If your vision is better this way, than it doesn't really matter." – he said, trying to give the boy the impression that he really couldn't care less – "However do explain to me why you were so inept last year and what changed."

Harry visibly relaxed when he saw that Snape wouldn't puck him, though he found it rather odd. The question about his potion making was an abrupt change of topic, but Harry was not about to point it out:

"Well…" – he cleared his throat and thought about how better to phrase his answer – "I found my Mother's diary from school at the attic and she spoke a lot about how much she liked the subject. So I just… tried to understand what she liked about it, since I never knew much about her… And the things she wrote were much easier to understand than the textbook, since it gave explanations between dicing things and mincing them and so on… So then I bought some books for kids about Potions and once I understood the process it did actually begin to make sense… after that I actually began to like the subject…"

The boy's speech was delivered in a slightly faltering voice, though the eyes were as stubborn as Lily's had been and Severus had to fight very hard to not give the child a slight smile. At the same time he silently berated himself for letting his hatred of James Potter cloud his judgement so much that he forgot that Harry Potter was muggle raised and therefore wouldn't know the things any pureblood would be taught at an early age and that he had to explain privately to the muggleborns. The simple fact that this boy had enough of his mother in him to overcome an obvious handicap was proof to the fact that Albus Dumbledore was correct about one thing at least – Harry Potter was most certainly not a mini-James.

"Very well, Mr. Potter," – he spoke levelly – "It is now almost time for your next class, so off you go. I will not write you an excuse note."

Harry gave the man a timid smile and with a muttered 'Good bye, sir' hurried off to the next class, which just happened to be Defense Against Dark Arts.

_'I certainly hope our teacher this year will be better than Quirrel…'_ – he thought as he climbed the staircases to the third floor.

* * *

Harry was about to round the last corner, when he heard Ron's raised voice coming from ahead. The Boy-Who-Lived came to a stop and peered from around the corner. The scene that greeted him was a rather strange one. About a meter from his hiding place stood Ron and Neville opposite each other. Hermione was also present, but the girl was clearly uncomfortable with what her partner in crime was doing. Harry listened to the confrontation, eager for new information.

"What are you doing," – Ron spat at the nervous looking Neville – "constantly running around him like some sort of lost puppy! Harry's my friend, so get lost already!"

Hermione was looking around nervously, possibly searching for a way to break up the impending fight:

"Ron, not now. We really should get to class." – she spoke quietly.

The red head didn't even acknowledge her, as if he didn't hear what she said:

"Anyway, quit bothering Harry or I'll curse you." – the idiot tried to sound intimidating, but it really was nowhere near Snape's level, thus Neville didn't look all that scared. Harry thought that even Draco Malfoy was better at intimidating people than Ron.

"I… I won't abandon Harry unless he tells me to leave him alone!" – said Neville. This made Ron lose any sort of control he had on his temper and much to Harry's horror he slammed his fist into Neville's nose. The blond boy fell to floor glaring at Ron, who just smirked smugly and went to class, Hermione trailing miserably after him.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, I'm stopping here for now. I hope my Snape was okay, since I found it really hard to write him. He is of course a bit AU, but I hope to make him decent. Thank you to all of my reviewers as well to all the people who alerted / faved my story so far.  
The Poll is still going, though it has been pointed out to me that 1) option 'A' has already been used, so I'm changing that to say lacing the lemon drops with laxative, or something along those lines. Any proposals you may have will be taken into account. Though never fear, all of them will get their prank at one point or another =)  
**


	9. Past Mysteries and New Beginnings

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

The red head didn't even acknowledge her, as if he didn't hear what she said:

"Anyway, quit bothering Harry or I'll curse you." – the idiot tried to sound intimidating, but it really was nowhere near Snape's level, thus Neville didn't look all that scared. Harry thought that even Draco Malfoy was better at intimidating people than Ron.

"I… I won't abandon Harry unless he tells me to leave him alone!" – said Neville. This made Ron lose any sort of control he had on his temper and much to Harry's horror he slammed his fist into Neville's nose. The blond boy fell to floor glaring at Ron, who just smirked smugly and went to class, Hermione trailing miserably after him.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT.**

As soon as his former friends were out of sight, Harry ran up to Neville, who was still sitting on the floor and holding a hand over his bleeding nose.

"Merlin, Neville!" – he exclaimed, as he dropped onto his knees next to the mentioned blond – "Are you okay? Do you want me to take you to the Hospital Wing?" – Harry rambled anxiously as he looked at the other boy's clearly broken nose.

Neville gave him a pained smile and with a bit of help from Harry got onto his feet:

"No, it's just a broken nose, though it hurts like hell." – the blond gestures to the classroom – "Go to DADA, Harry. I'll manage in my own."

Potter wanted to protest, but then he decides that Neville knows what he's doing. Still he asks one more time just to be sure:

"Are you certain? This happened because of me, taking you to the hospital wind is the least I can do… "

The Longbottom heir gave Harry a stern glare, or as stern as one could manage with a broken nose:

"Yes, I'm sure. Just make sure to take notes for me."

Feeling appropriately chastised, the green eyed boy hurried to class, making it just before the professor. He looked around the room, noting that there were only two available seats. One between Ron and Hermione and one beside the Slytherin girl who was always running after Draco, Pansy, Harry recalled. As much as he didn't wish to sit with the unknown girl, not sure how she would react, he knew for sure that if he were to chance sitting with his ex-friends, he would definitely do something he would regret in the future, like punching Ron. Thus he made his way to the first row of desks and much to the surprise of everyone in the class settled next to the Slytherin girl who was also staring at him in bewilderment.

* * *

As Potter dropped into the seat next to her, Pansy Parkinson stared at him incredulously:

"Potter, you do realize your two sidekicks are on the other side of the room, right?" – she enquires haughtily.

Harry shifted a bit in his seat as he glanced at the girl beside him:

"True, however it was not you who just now gave Neville a bloody nose in the corridor, so excuse me if I think you're better company." – he said, glancing at the idiot and know-it-all who were also staring at him incredulously. His voice was soft, but with a hard edge to it.

Pansy blinked as she processed the information given to her:

"Oh? So then you finally saw that you dear Weasley is actually an uncouth idiot who prefers to deal with his problems with his fists?" – she queried as she studied the boy next to her.

Harry blinked at her, confusion marring his features. Even though he pretty much despised the boy for spying on him and now for bullying Neville, he couldn't understand why the Slytherin girl would say that:

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Parkinson rolled her eyes, as she twirled a strand of her black curls around her finger:

"Oh well, it's practically common knowledge. We, the pureblood children that is, almost grew up together. All our parents know each other and we spent quite a lot of time around each other. Even though the Weasleys are blood traitors, their mother kept coming over as well, bringing the children, mostly Ronald and then his sister, with her. And well, being a blood traitor's child, especially a poor one is really not that great an achievement…" – she paused as she glanced around the room to see if the professor arrived or not – "… I can't say any of us made it easy for them to fit in, but none of us actually went out of our way to make them feel unwelcome either. We were neutral you could say. We all had some classes together, to teach us the basics before we went to Hogwarts…"

Harry listened to Pansy with something akin to jealousy. At least half of his classmates knew each other before coming to Hogwarts, they didn't have to work as hard as the others to fit in.

"… The only kid I can name who never liked them was Draco, though you should ask him yourself if you want to know his reasons. One day after the tutor left, Ron simply attacked Draco out of the blue. There was no reason for it as far as I'm aware. The Patil twins, who were the closest to them tried to separate the two, Ron pushed them away so hard that Padma hit her head on the edge of a table. Draco backed away from Ron and went to help the girl, when Ron jumped him from behind. They kept at it until the parents arrived. Since that day the Weasleys became unwelcome among the pureblood families."

As Pansy became silent again, Harry could barely stop himself from freaking out. This was very far from anything he expected to hear. This sort of violence was unusual. Harry could understand that much even though he was just a 12 year old kid. Anything else he wanted to ask Pansy would have to wait though, since the professor finally arrived.

"Hello, my darling students!" – exclaimed the man. He was clad in golden robes and had blond hair. Both the robes and the hair seemed to glitter. Harry shuddered both at the professor's overly cheerful voice and his utterly ridiculous robes, which were even worse than Dumbledore's as unbelievable as that was.

"As you may already know, my name is Gilderoy Lockhart and this year I'll be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." – he flashed them a smile which so white that it made Harry that it was somehow charmed. He glanced at Pansy and saw that the girl was similarly disgusted. This made him feel better and he turned his attention back to the man who was sure to become his worst nightmare.

"… I do hope that you've read the first book on the list, which is called 'The Magical Me', at least once by now. Thus I will now quiz you on the knowledge you've gathered from the book."

Harry made a disgusted face, which made Pansy snicker next to him. The boy looked at the three pages long test and had a feeling that this year's defence teacher was even worse than Quirrel.

With a disgusted sigh he begins filling out the test.

_[1) When was Gilderoy Lockhart born?_

_- Em… sometime in the last century…_

_2) What is his favorite color?_

_- Most likely neon pink._

_3) What was G.L.'s first book?_

_- 101 ways to become a pompous git._

_4) What ways to get attention of the public to oneself are described in 'The Magical Me'?_

_- Run around in the nude, wear gold or neon pink robes; charm your smile to blind people around you; resemble a peacock; believe oneself to be the greatest thing since Merlin;_

_5) What is G.L.' biggest dream?_

_- to be forever known as the wizard with the worst fashion sense ever.]_

And the questions went on and on, the next more ridiculous than the previous one. At the 30th question, which was 'Who is G.L.'s idol?', Harry had to actually spend a few minutes thinking, before scribbling down his answer 'Gwineth the Glamorous'. Obviously that wasn't all that interesting an answer, especially since the boy couldn't quite recall who that Gwineth was, but Harry was very close to being mentally exhausted, thus he couldn't care less about providing a humorous answer.

* * *

When the lesson was over, Harry hurried out of the classroom, eager to catch up with Pansy and grill the girl for some more information. Also, he thought, he would have to check up on Neville and see if his friend was up to taking the afternoon classes. His plans, however, were cut short when Ron and Hermione appeared in front of him, both with accusing frowns on their faces. Hermione was the first to speak:

"Harry, why didn't you sit with us? Didn't you notice that we saved you a place?"

"Yeah, mate, what's with sitting with those slimy snakes?" – came Ron's much less subtle and very much accusing voice.

Harry bristled at the tone of his ex-best mate, though the carrot top was not aware of the change of his status yet, and narrow his emerald green eyes:

"I don't see how it's any of your business where I choose to sit in class, Ron."

The Weasley blinked stupidly:

"But Slytherins! You know they're slimy, evil, disgusting scum! Why would you…"

The Potter heir interrupted the idiot before he went on a rant about the Slytherin house:

"I know no such thing. The only opinion about Slytherins that's often repeated is your own."

Hermione frowned at him, trying to figure out why he was behaving so differently from the boy they got to know last year. She studied his appearance and blinked a few times at the differences she noted:

"Those are very nice robes, " – she said and caused Harry to roll his eyes at the girl. Her words also drew Weasley's eyes to the said robes:

"What's with you dressing like a stuck up pureblood?" – the ginger head asked incredulously with a very evident streak of anger and jealousy in his voice.

Harry snorted at that and deftly walked around the two idiots:

"I really have no time for your nonsense, Ron. I need to go check up on Neville." – he bit out as he began his track to the Gryffindor tower, intent on not thinking about the unpleasant confrontation, though to be perfectly honest it could hardly be even called a real confrontation, more like a small spat.

* * *

When he entered his room in the Tower, he immediately spotted Neville. The other boy was lying on the bed and reading a book on Herbology, probably a much more difficult volume than their textbook. Harry was relieved to see that his friend's nose was back to normal. He went to lie down on his own bed:

"Well, it seems that my worry was indeed not really necessary." – he said – "I'm sorry if I seemed overbearing."

Longbottom gave Harry a small cheerful smile:

"It's okay. Actually it was rather refreshing to have someone worry about me that way. I mean Gran was always attentive, but she's always trying to mold me into a clone of Dad, so it's not exactly the same thing I think. SO, how's our new DADA professor?"

The mention of the golden haired menace made Harry grimace:

"You truly didn't miss anything important. Our teacher is Gilderoy Lockhart. And we spent the lesson filling out a three page quiz about his book 'The Magical Me'. He even gave me an extra test for you."

Neville spent a few moments staring at his roommate, as if trying to figure out if the other boy was having him on. Then he made a face:

"Darn it. I think Gran was correct when she suggested that the position was cursed… I never thought there could be anyone worse than Quirrel, but that idiot definitely is worse. Where does Dumbledore find such crackpots?"

Harry nodded sagely as he recalled what Pansy told him. He decided to ask if maybe Neville knew something:

"You know, Pansy Parkinson told me that most pureblood children had a shared tutor…"

The other boy smiled:

"Yeah, there was that. Come to think of it Ron and Ginny attended as well… at first that is. I guess she told you about that thing with Malfoy… I can't really tell you more than she did; I have no idea what it was about."

Harry sighed:

"Well, I suppose I'll have to ask Malfoy than… Well, anyway, are you up to going to the afternoon classes?"

"Sure." – Neville agreed quickly and got up from the bed – "By the way, I received a reply to my letter to Gran. She said she knew the details about the bonding, but she doubts that 'boys as young as you two have real need of such a thing'."

The Potter heir inclined his head, took his book bag and led the other boy to their Transfiguration lesson.

* * *

**Author's Note:** **While pondering the future development of the story, I've come across a topic which I can't exactly make a decision about. I want to give Harry a magical inheritance.**

**Poll 2: Harry should have the following inheritance:  
A.** veela inheritance at age 14;**  
B. **he should be a veela mate, not the veela; **  
C. **dragon inheritance;**  
D. **dark elf inheritance;**  
E. **elemental magic inheritance at age 16;**  
F. **become a vampire / werewolf;**  
G. **any other option is also welcome;**  
**


	10. Mending Torn Fences

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Harry sighed:

"Well, I suppose I'll have to ask Malfoy than… Well, anyway, are you up to going to the afternoon classes?"

"Sure." – Neville agreed quickly and got up from the bed – "By the way, I received a reply to my letter to Gran. She said she knew the details about the bonding, but she doubts that 'boys as young as you two have real need of such a thing'."

The Potter heir inclined his head, took his book bag and led the other boy to their Transfiguration lesson.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE.**

While Harry and Neville were taking a break at the Gryffindor Tower, Pansy Parkinson went to lunch and spent the time thinking about the curious behavior of the Gryffindor's Golden Boy. Sitting at the Slytherin table, surrounded by her fellow students, Pansy couldn't help but realize that really there wasn't initially all that much difference between purebloods and muggleborns. Of course that was only a surface façade, the Slytherin mused, and Hermione Granger alone was enough proof for Pansy that as similar as they all were, blood did matter. Probably not in the way that muggleborns had less magic, or any other similar nonsense, but in the way they destroyed their culture.

Pansy knew that one way or another they did need muggleborns, if only to refresh the bloodlines, because it was glaringly obvious, especially in her own generation, that marrying strictly within the pureblood families led to the birth of such children like for example Crabbe and Goyle, not to mention Weasley. 'Too close inbreeding between the families caused the birth of defective children, like with dogs' – Pansy repeated her mother's words in her mind, but try as she might she had no idea why that was so. Thus the girl decided to spend some time at the library and understand what her mother meant when she said that.

* * *

Up at the Professor's Table things were also not going as smoothly as they could be, that however solely due to the fact that Snape spent the time needling the new DADA Professor. Once Lockhart's books have been added to the school curriculum, Severus made an effort to read them and see if the idiot would be a good enough teacher, but in his opinion the books could only be categorized as adventure fairy tales. Sure, the deeds themselves were those that have been actually achieved, but the way Lockhart describes them was nowhere near educational. Thus Severus set out on a quest to chase the idiot out of Hogwarts.

"Really now, Gilderoy," – he said patronizingly as the blond nuisance gaped at him – "I do not require to go off on an another trip to do this again. I will be quite happy to provide with an already captured specimen. It's just such a unique way of getting rid of an inferi that I simply must see it firsthand."

The Potions Master knew that sarcasm was pretty much visible as he said that, but the idiot didn't see it, he just squirmed in his place sweating lightly. This of course also added to the growing suspicion that Albus has hired a complete fraud.

Next to Severus Minerva McGonagall snorted lightly as she also observed the squirming man. She decided to join in on the fun:

"Really, Gilderoy, you're such a genius that you simply must offer us a practical lesson on destroying inferi. You are an extraordinary wizard; you mustn't be so bashful about it." – Obviously that was the farthest thing from the truth, but Minnie McGonagall despised incompetent idiots and thus she would do what she could to spare the children. In her opinion, they needed a lot of change when it came to the Professors, but did Albus ever listen to her? No, the old coot was so enamoured with his power that he turned practically feral whenever she made proposals that in any way undermined his authority, even if they were sound ideas. She shot a dark glare at the crack-pot that was currently sucking on a lemon drop and wished for a miracle to happen. Pretty much that very moment something unexpected happened – Albus Dumbledore's navy blue robes with huge Christmas balls on them suddenly changed into a muggle ballet dancer's outfit, while his hair and beard became neon pink.

For a few moments there was total silence in the Great Hall, then some brave Gryffindors along with some Slytherins became snickering at the headmaster's predicament. That made the entire student body shake off the shock and laugh merrily at the ridiculous outfit of Albus Dumbledore. It was only after the kids began laughing that the esteemed headmaster finally took note of his change of appearance. At first he went still and then a loud girlish shriek escaped him as something stung him in the arse. He jumped high into the air and ran out of the Great Hall on a speed that was astonishing for an old geezer of his age.

He jumped high into the air and ran out of the Great Hall on a speed that was astonishing for an old geezer of his age. His hasty retreat from the Great Hall only managed to get the people laugh harder, some first year kid was laughing so hard, that he even fell down from the bench.

* * *

When Harry and Neville made it to the Transfiguration classroom, they noted that everyone seemed to be in a good mood, which was rather odd, because Slytherins and Gryffindors had a rather different sense of humor.

He walked to front row and merrily sat down beside Pansy. Neville shrugged and followed suit, sitting next to Harry.

The Slytherin girl raised an eyebrow at the lions and shrugged. Draco, who entered the classroom soon after, stopped on the other side of Pansy and gaped at the two Gryffindors that were sitting beside her friend. He heard that Potter sat with Pansy during the ridiculousness that was DADA, but since the boy was practically the last one to arrive, he figured he didn't find another empty seat. Now however it was obvious that sitting on the Slytherin part of the classroom was a deliberate choice on Potter's part and Draco was confused by it. The blond allowed Pansy to drag him down into his seat, since he was too busy thinking about the possible reasons for Harry to not be sitting with his pet Weasel and the mudblood. He turned to Pansy and whispered:

"What are those two doing here?"

The girl was highly amused by his reaction:

"Attending the class, you blockhead…" – she drawled quietly.

Harry smiled slightly at his Slytherin neighbours and decided this would be a good time to try and mend the bridge between Draco and himself:

"Nice to see you too, Malfoy." – With that he stuck out his hand and waited.

Nothing could have prepared the Malfoy heir for this. To have finally decided that if he couldn't be friends with Potter then he would his enemy only to now have the very same boy offer him his hand with an honest smile on his face. Thus he stared at the hand blankly until he felt Pansy nudge him with her elbow. Hesitantly he grasped the offered hand and gave it a hard squeeze.

Harry's smile widened when the blond shook his hand:

"I want you to know that you were right last year when you said some wizarding families were better than others. I wish I listened to you then. I hope you'll forgive me for being a judgmental idiot and consider becoming my friend."

That was so much more than Draco expected. Not only did Potter offer him his hand, which clearly indicated that the other boy thought them to be equals, but the Boy-Who-Lived actually apologized for not taking his hand last year. For some reason he couldn't find the right words to say, so he just returned Harry's smile with an even bigger grin:

"I always knew you'd see the error of your ways." – even to Draco himself that sounded rather arrogant and he feared Harry wouldn't react well, but to his immense relief the brunet boy just smirked.

Then the professor came into the room and she too was smiling:

"Hello, children. I've checked your summer assignments and I must say there are several that I particularly liked and a few that couldn't really be worse." – Minerva McGonagall began her speech – "First of all I award 5 points each for the incredible work they've done this summer to Ms. Hermione Granger of Gryffindor, Mr. Draco Malfoy of Slytherin, Mr. Harry Potter of Gryffindor, Ms. Pansy Parkinson of Slytherin and Mr. Blaise Zabini of Slytherin. These five students have written the best essays on the topic. Now the following students have ranked the worst and will therefore serve a detention with me – Mr. Vincent Crabbe of Slytherin, Mr. Gregory Goyle of Slytherin, Mr. Ronald Weasley of Gryffindor and Mr. Dean Thomas of Gryffindor. Your detention will take place this Saturday afternoon."

Harry was pleased with his result, receiving praise was indeed very fulfilling and he could understand a bit more why Hermione always strove to do the best she could. At the same time his enjoyment was even bigger when he heard about Ron's abysmal essay. Hermione, however, was on the top as usual.

_'I wish there was a way to get her to fall from that high horse of hers…'_ – he thought vindictively as he watched the muggleborn witch berate Ron for getting a detention so early in the year.

The topic of their lesson was an interesting one. They learned how to change the properties of an object without actually changing the object itself. This gave Harry a rather brilliant idea. He jotted down a note and slid to rest in front of Neville while McGonagall was busy drawing a diagram on the board.

The Longbottom heir glanced at the piece of paper in front of his and gave Harry an amused glance.

[Nev,

I'm thinking about changing the properties of Granger's ink so that all of her homework and other assignments become total gibberish instead of letters. However I also need some sort of charm that will make sure that she is not aware of the fact that she's writing gibberish.]

Neville slipped the note into his pocket and gave Harry a tiny nod before going back to listening to McGonagall's lecture.

* * *

And so a week later, when they had another Transfiguration class, Minerva McGonagall had something very interesting to say to the resident bushy haired know-it-all.

* * *

**Author's Note: And here it is. I'm sorry that it is slightly shorter than I would have liked, but I've decided to keep the Granger fiasco until the next chapter.**  
**Now about Poll 1. It's obviously finished and I thank DianaTheHUNTRESSS who was the one to suggest the prank idea. Never fear though, there will be enough pranking in the story to challenge everyone's imagination.  
Concerning Poll 2: I've come to realize (with some help from my reviewers) that the idea of the veela inheritance is indeed a well used one, thus I'm more inclined towards the elf, or dragon inheritance. Or maybe I'll just make him into a mate of some creature. **


	11. The Drop That Broke The Dam

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Neville slipped the note into his pocket and gave Harry a tiny nod before going back to listening to McGonagall's lecture.

And so a week later, when they had another Transfiguration class, Minerva McGonagall had something very interesting to say to the resident bushy haired know-it-all.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN.**

While Minerva handed out the graded essays, she thought about Ms. Granger's essay and she couldn't quite understand what happened. Had this been 1976 and had Hermione Granger been Severus Snape, then she would have thought this to be a prank, however it was common knowledge that Hermione was friends with Harry Potter, who was the legacy of the infamous Marauders, and thus it was hardly Harry's idea. None the less she was unable to reverse the spell on parchment, if there even was a spell involved, and so was forced to give her best student since Lily Evans a 'T'.

Accepting his own essay with an 'O' written on it, Harry thanked the professor and looked around the classroom for Granger. He noticed the girl on the Gryffindor side, sitting between Ronald and Parvati Patil. Her hands were trembling as she stared at the scroll of parchment in her hands. Harry elbowed both Neville and Pansy, who were sitting beside him and nodded in Granger's direction:

"Looks like the know-it-all doesn't actually know everything…" – he muttered under his breath just loud enough for his new friends to hear. Both Harry and Neville made sure that their satisfaction was not visible, while Draco and Pansy were free to enjoy themselves.

"Harry, will you help with a little something I planned for Ronald?" – whispered Neville just above his breath.

The Potter heir smiled in understanding:

"He'll deserve just about anything you give him for what he did. Did you tell Pomphrey he was the one to do it?"

Longbottom gave him a satisfied smile:

"Oh absolutely. Told her Ron got jealous that you liked me better. He has a detention with Filch on Saturday and one with Pomphrey on Sunday… But I feel that he deserves something a bit more personal."

"You're right, my dear friend." – nodded Harry, as the two boys still observed Hermione's descent into hysterics – "Is there something particular on your mind?"

"Not yet," – shrugged Neville – "But I'll come up with something. And if not, I'm pretty sure Pansy or Malfoy won't be against lending us their brains."

"There is that…" – replied Harry absently, as he jotted down their next assignment.

* * *

That evening Harry and Neville returned to the common room rather late, for they spent the day in the library doing homework with Pansy and Draco. While there the boys finally talked out their differences and all four of them agreed to do a secrecy spell, one that was described in the letter from Neville's Gran. It was much easier than the ritual they had in mind, now they only needed to carefully think out the conditions so as not to leave any loopholes.

Thankfully both boys made it the Gryffindor Tower barely before curfew and promptly heard voices coming from Ron's room. Harry wasn't sure if he was okay with Neville learning about these things, but then again he already knew the big secret about the Weasleys, so he figured some more small things wouldn't matter in the long run. They opened their room and quietly crept to Ron's door.

"Hermione, calm down," – came Ron's whiny voice – "I'm sure it was just some Slytherin's prank."

"Easy for you to say!" – Shrieked the enraged girl – "Your school work level is so abysmal that it wouldn't matter if you didn't hand in the assignments at all!"

"Yes, well, if only you helped me a bit…" – the ginger grumbled.

"Shut up the both of you!" – came a third voice. Harry glanced at Neville in confusion. The other boy shrugged, not recognizing the speaker – "None of this is relevant to the real issue! We were told to get back in Potter's good graces, well you were, since I have you to actually meet him."

"Ginny, be quiet!" – snapped Hermione, clearly irritated – "My marks are very important to me as you well know. Potter is not going anywhere. And with Ron punching Longbottom I'm pretty sure the boy won't be open to anything the two of us have to say. We have to wait for a more opportune time… or better yet, Ron has to apologize!"

"I'm not apologizing to that pansy!"

"No one said anything about Parkinson." – snickered Ginevra Weasley.

"Ginny, honesty, shut up! I don't even know why you came here in the first plan, your part in the plan some years away."

"I know that. But I want to be friends with Potter. That way people won't be overly surprised when we begin dating. After all a love potion on its' own is not really that clever an idea."

"True enough, I suppose…" – sighed Hermione – "And Headmaster Dumbledore says it's imperative that he become your boyfriend before his 15th birthday, though I don't really understand that. Why 15 and not 14 or say 16? Oh well, not like it matters…"

Outside the door Harry and Neville frowned at each other. This conversation was longer than the other snippets they've managed to overhear before, but it was even weirder and harder to figure out. Harry turned his attention back to the headmaster's spies.

"I don't care. He will be my husband one way or another, the headmaster promised I could keep him if I could control him." – said Ginevra and Hermione snorted.

"Good like with that. He doesn't much like to be controlled I think… and what will you do should he not like girls at all?" – that was added to tease the ginger girl, but Ginny really didn't take that well.

"That's will not happen! He's the Boy-Who-Lived! He won't become some sort of… of…"

"Fag?" – supplied Ron nastily.

"Yeah, that! There is just no way! Headmaster won't let him!" – hissed the obviously furious girl – "Anyway, I'm going to bed!"

Harry and Neville made a quiet and hasty retreat to their own room and dropped down onto their beds.

"Well… that was interesting…" – said Neville quietly.

"Yeah, you could say that again… It's like they think I'm their property! Who do they think they are? What right do they have to butt into my life like that? We really need to teach them a lesson."

"Yes, and with how Ronald hates Slytherins, how about we turn him into one?"

"You mean like charm his robes?"

"No, you dolt," – snorted Neville affectionately – "Let's charm Ron himself."

"Oh…" – muttered Harry and then cackled madly at the priceless mental picture – "Then let's some from each house and charm them too, so they don't think we're singling out Ronald… and do we actually know a charm for that?"

Neville blushed lightly:

"Well, no… but I figure we could ask Fred and George…"

"But they're Weasleys…" – said Harry doubtfully – "I don't think they'll teach us if they know we want to curse their brother…"

"Oh, I don't know… there's this girl in Ravenclaw, her name is Luna Lovegood, she lives near the Weasleys and she said the twins constantly prank their siblings."

"Okay then, let's try… if not, then I'm sure Pansy and Draco will be able to find out the charm…" – agreed Harry.

* * *

Fred and George Weasley, contrary to what people, even some members of their own family, thought, were not idiots. Sure, they like pranks. Scratch that, they liked pranks a lot, but that didn't mean that they were oblivious to the life around them. They were aware that their mother was up to no good and it was not the way they were used to. They saw once how Professor Dumbledore gave their mother money and heard him saying that 'the Potter brat' needed to be kept under control. They of course didn't quite understand what the old man meant, but the secret meeting their mother held with their younger brother and sister was a rather big give away. Thus the twins' sense of justice was rankled. They didn't like others messing with the people they liked and they did like Harry Potter quite a lot. The boy was rather sweet and very funny after all and not at all arrogant and self-important like one would expect a child hero to be. They were busy thinking how they could let Harry know what they knew, when they were approached by the boy himself and Neville Longbottom, who apparently replaced their younger brother as Harry's best friend. Which, all things considered, was a good thing.

"Hi Fred, hi George." – said the two boys together.

"Well, would you look at that…" – said one twin.

"…young Potter and Longbottom…" – continued the other.

"A real honour to meet you,"

"Our hero."

"What can we do for you this fine evening?" – they finished together. Through the time they were speaking, the two boys were looking from one twin to another and so now they both felt a bit dizzy.

Harry shook his head slightly and blinked a few times:

"Do you guys really have to talk like that all the time? It's giving me a headache."

Neville snorted at the slight pout on Harry's face:

"Anyway, we want to prank a certain someone and since we're only second years, we were sure that the infamous Weasley twins would be right people to talk to." – he said with a huge smile on his slightly chubby face.

"Oh-ho! A prank, he says, well of course we'll help." – exclaimed George, or at least the boys thought he was George.

"Pranks are our specialty after all." – smirked Fred.

"Doesn't matter who you're going to prank, even if it's us…"

"As long as it's not Snape…"

"Oh, yes, his detentions after someone pranks him are absolutely hideous." – here both twins shuddered and both of the younger boys couldn't help but shiver a bit.

"Don't worry it's not a professor." – assured them Harry.

"Then we'll do it. What sort of help are you after, youngsters?"

"Hey!" – Neville called out indignantly – "You two are not that much older!"

Harry snickered:

"No need to be so touchy, Nev." – he turned his attention to the two gingers – "We want you to teach us how to change someone's skin and hair color."

Fred and George gave the two boys identical practically maniacal grins:

"Oh, the classics! There are two ways to do that." – said one twin.

"You either use the 'Coloris Converto'**[1]** spell, or there is a potion that you can ask a house elf to administer."

Neville nodded enthusiastically:

"Yeah, that is rather easy…"

"I'd personally prefer the spell…" – said Harry – "And what the heck is a house elf?"

Harry shook his head:

"No, I don't, I just said that. Was I supposed to know?"

The other twin nodded:

"Yeah, I mean, we know you were raised by Muggles and all that, but they even talk about house elves in those pamphlets they send to the muggleborn students along with their first letter. You mean you never got one of those?"

Harry lowered his head and took a deep breath, as a wave of anger and disappointment hit him. He slowly raised his head and all three boys winced when they saw his darkened green eyes.

"They… will… pay…" – he said quietly, yet everyone heard him perfectly. Neville wondered just what exactly did the two idiots do to make him so angry, for it was quite obvious that just a pamphlet was not reason enough for such anger.

Fred and George shared a concerned look. It seemed that Harry was aware of the thing they wanted to tell him, or at the very least he knew something equally bad if not worse.

* * *

**[1]** - translated from Latin means 'colour switch'  
**Author's Note: Well, this is it for now. A truth vow, revelations and pranking Ron coming up =)**  
**Thank you for reading and reviewing the story.**


	12. The Truth and Pranks

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Harry lowered his head and took a deep breath, as a wave of anger and disappointment hit him. He slowly raised his head and all three boys winced when they saw his darkened green eyes.

"They… will… pay…" – he said quietly, yet everyone heard him perfectly. Neville wondered just what exactly did the two idiots do to make him so angry, for it was quite obvious that just a pamphlet was not reason enough for such anger.

Fred and George shared a concerned look. It seemed that Harry was aware of the thing they wanted to tell him, or at the very least he knew something equally bad if not worse.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN.**

A person who did not know Harry Potter personally would think that a 12 year old boy being angry was no big deal… and such a person would be definitely making a big mistake. Harry Potter, after all, was not just your regular 12 year old kid. He was a young wizard with an exceptionally strong magical core and he was seriously pissed off.

"First they don't write the entire summer! Then I hear Molly talking to Ron about the money they were receiving from Dumbledore for being my friends... paid from my vault no less!.." – Harry began ranting, his chest heaving, as his magic swirled wildly around him like a wind – "Then it comes out that it's not only Ron, but his sister and Hermione as well that are spying on me for that Headmaster!.. And now this? It's like he wanted me to be a total idiot!"

Fred, George and Neville, who wisely retreated a bit when magic began crackling around him, shared a concerned glance. They knew things were bad, but what they've just heard was beyond any rational limits.

"Oh Merlin… How the heck did he manage to not have them killed?" – whispered Fred in awe.

"How much patience does he have? To know that many condemning things and not take action at once?" – came George's equally quiet and awed voice.

Neville shivered at the amount of power his friend possessed:

"True… but we do have to snap him out of it… Should anyone see him like this…"

The boys didn't have to worry though, as the wind caused by Harry's magic slowly died down and the boy started to fall down, completely exhausted.

"Shit!" – with a muttered curse both twins rushed up to the falling boy and caught the child before he hit the floor.

"Wow… he's totally out of it…" – murmured Fred.

"Okay, then. Neville, take his bag to your room, we'll carry Harry." – said George. Being the older twin, he was a bit more responsible and serious, though he rarely had reason to show this side of him to anyone.

* * *

When Harry woke up, it was dark outside. He blushed slightly, when he recalled how he blew up in front of Neville and the twins. He was still slightly tired, but he sat up and looked around. It looked like at one point his friends carried him to bed. Harry noticed that all three of them were still in the room, all asleep. He himself was sharing a bed with one of the twins, while Neville shared his with the other. Without realizing it, Harry cuddled with George as frantic thoughts ran around his mind.

_'Merlin, I really did it this time…'_ – he thought –_ 'I can't believe I blew up like that and in front of them none the less… How do I explain this?'_

He was jolted out of his musings when he felt George's arm tighten around his wait:

"You're thinking too hard, Harry. Sleep. We'll figure everything out tomorrow." – murmured the ginger sleepily.

"Okay…" – muttered Potter as he drifted off to sleep, for once in his life feeling warm, safe and protected in the circle of the older boy's arms.

_'I wonder is this how it feels to have a family…'_ – was his last conscious thought.

* * *

A loud 'CLICK' was what woke Harry up in the morning. The boy wanted to sit up, but something wouldn't let him. He frowned and glanced around – he was held by a sleeping Weasley twin, he wasn't sure which one, though if he had to guess he'd say it was George.

Harry blushed slightly at the position he woke up in – he was after all already 12, therefore it was embarrassing to be held during the night like some small kid. With some difficulty he crawled out from the circle of George's arms and made a dash for the bathroom. After relieving himself and taking a quick shower, he stared at his reflection in the mirror, noting how his hair was slowly becoming fuller, silkier, gaining a bluish tint to it.

_'I lost it yesterday…'_ – he thought miserably as he recalled the events of the previous evening – _'I told them everything… I… what the heck am I supposed to do now? The twins will probably hate me now…'_

However Harry was not allowed to wallow in self-pity, because the bathroom door opened and George walked in, regarding the younger boy carefully:

"I do hope you do not think that we're about to blame you." – the ginger stated in a calm voice, his face calm and gentle.

"But… but I…" – sputtered Harry, trying to find the right words for what he was feeling and for what he thought he did – "I told you all those things … and…"

"And both Fred and I, and I'm sure Neville as well, are very glad that you confided in us." – interrupted George before Harry got carried away with the pity party.

"You sure?" – asked Harry quietly. He thought about how he woke up last night and the memory of falling asleep while being held, feeling warm and protected and cared for slowly brought him out of his flunk.

"Positive." – George reassured him – "Now come, the others are up and we have lots of planning to do."

Just as the ginger said, both his brother and Neville were up and apparently Fred was busy teaching Neville a spell.

"Morning Harry," – exclaimed Neville happily as he saw that his friend was up and about – "Fred is teaching me the color switch spell. Want to give it a try?"

"S-sure…" – stammered Harry, he was expecting questions and demands and here they were behaving like the 'episode' never happened. It was not what he was used to and thus he didn't know just how to behave. All the books he read were useless in a situation like this.

George sat at the desk, which was occupied by the pile of books and scrolls with homework, and watched his younger twin teach the two boys the spell, his mind churning with all the new information. As much as he wanted to push it aside and join the others, he knew they needed a plan and a good one, not just a thirst for revenge. Last night both he and Fred stayed up late thinking about everything they learnt from Harry's rant and what it meant to them. The twins decided to write to their older brothers, Bill and Charlie, at some point. It was clear that their mother, along with Ron and Ginny were in on Dumbledore's scheme. Thus they needed to learn if their father and older brothers were involved. Both George and Fred were pretty sure that the only other Weasley who could be in on the plan was Percy, but they decided that careful probing would be a better way to go than outright accusations. Unlike the two of them, Neville didn't have anything to think about, he was with Harry all the way.

Finally George noticed that both boys successfully changed the colour of the toy they were practising on.

"Wow, Fred… you should consider becoming a professor after school!" – he teased his other half.

"Yeah, right…" – drawled other red-head – "These two are just that good."

They were interrupted by the arrival of Ron Weasley.

"Harry, mate, are you up? I'm coming in."

The boys shared a look. They were not keen on Ron finding his brothers in Harry's room. Thus the teens hid under the beds and observed, ready to defend Harry should the need arise. Neville got onto the bed and pretended to be asleep. Harry took his place at the table and busied himself with organizing his desk.

When Ron entered the room, his eyes quickly took in everything, starting from the decorations and ending with Harry's clothes.

"Hey, mate!" – he said cheerfully – "Going for breakfast?"

"Not quite yet, Ronald." – responded Harry calmly, his voice indifferent.

"Why not?" – asked the carrot top frowning slightly – "Come on, Harry, I'm hungry!"

"Then go on your own." – said the raven haired wizard flatly – "I'm finishing my Potions essay!"

"Homework before breakfast?" – asked Ron incredulously – "You're worse than Hermione!"

"Oh really?" – inquired Harry harshly – "I wonder, what exactly are you doing inviting me to breakfast with you in the first place?"

"Huh?" – was the ever so eloquent answer.

"If you don't remember, you punched Neville last week for being my friend." – drawled Harry, sounding a bit like Draco.

"So he went and snitched like the coward he is?" – spat Ron – "You don't need to lower yourself to trash like him! You're Harry Potter!"

"I know my name, thank you, Ronald!" – he bit out, feeling annoyed – "And who exactly gave you the right to decide if I can become friends with Neville, or anyone else for that matter?"

"…" – Ronald couldn't seem to find an answer.

"Get out. I don't want to talk to you until you apologize to Neville and write a formal apology to his Gran."

That sent the other boy scurrying from the room.

* * *

When they made it to breakfast, Harry, Neville, Fred and George made sure to sit as far from Ron and Hermione as possible. While Dumbledore was making some announcement, Harry cursed Ron, Neville got some Hufflepuff, while Pansy and Draco, who were told about the prank earlier that morning, eagerly cursed a muggleborn that somehow got into Slytherin and some stuck up Ravenclaw. The twins discreetly cursed Lockhart. Originally they were not going to charm a staff member, but seeing how it was just Lockhart, they figured it would be okay.

The laughing session that ensued was a loud one. Everyone found the prank rather amusing… except Ron and the other victims that is. The youngest Weasley brother was shrieking like a girl, while Lockhart was running back and forth wailing worse than a banshee.

"Well, this is really good." – decided Harry – "We really should do things like that more often."

Further down the Gryffindor table a muggleborn first year Colin Creevey was clicking his camera like a person possessed, muttering about great shots.

Further down the Gryffindor table a muggleborn first year Colin Creevey was clicking his camera like a person possessed, muttering about great shots.

Dumbledore observed the chaos with a mad twinkle in his eyes. He really did enjoy a good prank, especially if he was not the target. Nearby Minerva and Severus were enjoying Lockhart's humiliation so much that they decided to give the Weasley twins, for in their minds there were no other possible culprits, some points as a reward.

At the Slytherin table Draco and Pansy were cackling madly – they got away with cursing random people in the Great Hall. This, they decided, was a nice joke.

"Well, I guess this is a success." – observed Pansy.

"Oh, undoubtedly." – murmured Draco – "I just wonder what the Weasel did that his own brothers helped to prank him."

"I will say exactly what I told Potter when he asked about that episode with Weasley before school." – stated the girl – "If you're that curious, ask him yourself."

"You told him about that?" – yelped Draco quietly – "Why did you do that?"

"Well, he asked and I only said that you two had a fight, not what it was about, so chill out."

The blond grinned sheepishly at his friend and went back to breakfast.

Hermione Granger saw her friend and accomplice turn green and silver and couldn't hold back a snicker, even Ginny snorted. This of course only enraged Ron further.

"Darn it!" – fumed Weasley – "This is humiliating! Whoever did this will pay for this!"

"Shut up, Ronnie!" – called out Fred grinning from ear to ear – "You sound like Malfoy. 'My father shall hear about this'…"

"Shut up, Fred!" – spat the younger redhead.

Finally Dumbledore decided to do some damage control:

"No, now… settle down everyone. The excitement is over. Those affected by the… color change, please go to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey will sort you out in no time."

And so the five unlucky people went up to the Hospital Wing, while the others stayed behind to enjoy a calm and quiet breakfast.

* * *

**Author's Note:** **Well, I'll stop here for now. Finally the traitors will begin getting what they deserve.  
****I also want to thank all my reviewers, reviews always make me happy and give me the necessary inspiration to continue updating the story regularly.  
****I got a review saying that Harry should do something about the traitors and so on. Never doubt, they will suffer for their misdeeds. However, as you well know, revenge is a dish best served cold =)**


	13. Death Party and The Dead Cat

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Finally Dumbledore decided to do some damage control:

"No, now… settle down everyone. The excitement is over. Those affected by the… color change, please go to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey will sort you out in no time."

And so the five unlucky people went up to the Hospital Wing, while the others stayed behind to enjoy a calm and quiet breakfast.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE.**

After the first prank on Ron time seemed to fly by rather quickly. Harry would go to classes and make sure to do better than Granger in every subject possible and Draco was there to keep the muggleborn know-it-all under control in those subjects where Harry couldn't keep up, which were just a few, namely Potions, History of Magic and Astronomy. That, coupled with the charm on her ink which still no one could figure out how to undo, made sure that Hermione Granger had no time to spy on Harry. Ginny, oddly enough, didn't really acquire much attention, since she was practically unseen all the time. Ronald… well, he was Ronald… he was as thick as a brick. No matter how many times Harry told the carrot top to go away, Ron would still bounce back up a few days later as if nothing happened. But beside those Harry had another problem – the problem's name was Gilderoy Lockhart and by the time Halloween arrived, the Boy-Who-Lived was seriously contemplating poisoning or otherwise getting rid of the idiot.

* * *

"Urgh… leave me alone…"- whined Harry, as Neville attempted to get his roommate out of bed.

"Harry, we have classes. Get up, you lazy git." – came the already expected reply.

"Don't want to… It's Halloween… I'm not going out of this room today!"

"Oh, come on! Do you want me to get George?" – Neville threatened idly.

"Okay! Fine! I'm up!" – grumbled the Potter heir as he flung away the covers and crawled out of bed.

Neville snickered at his friend's fear of George. Somehow over the past two months the Weasley twins became like older siblings to Harry and Neville. And while Fred was very fun to hand out with and the one to help them out with their pranks, George was more of a mother hen. Of course that didn't mean that he became a responsible person. But when it came to Harry and Neville, he was like a totally different person. He helped them with their homework; made sure they ate healthily and exercised regularly. He even tuck them in when they went to bed. Obviously no one except his twin and the boys never saw this side of George and if one were to ask Fred about this side of his twin, he'd go dreamy eyed and sigh all the time, probably imagining what a good mother his twin would make for their future children.

"I don't get so important. I haven't missed a single class so far, there is no harm in missing one day…" – grumbled Harry as he went for a shower.

Back in their room Neville snickered quietly and readied himself for classes.

* * *

"A duelling club you say?" – asked Minerva McGonagall incredulously – "Are you sure you're up to it?"

It was indeed a lucky day for the Scottish witch. Early in the morning Dumbledore left to visit his sister's grave and thus making decisions was in her hands right now. Unfortunately she couldn't fire the idiot, who was in front of her right now, but it still felt good, no matter that it was only for a little while.

She sighed in relief when Severus swept into the room. One glare from the Potions master was enough to make the coward slink back to his classroom:

"Morning, Severus." – she greeting the younger man –"You're right on time as always."

"Obviously, Minerva." – said the wizard – "Was there something you needed?"

"Nothing in particular. Though our resident idiot proposed an interesting idea…"

"You don't say?" – drawled the man, snorting derisively.

"He proposed to make a dueling club. Of course he wanted to be in charge, but I told him to get lost. Now however I realize that the idea itself is not a bad one. Thus I'm asking you to take charge of it, if there enough children who want to take part."

"A dueling club?" – Severus muttered. He has always wanted to be the DADA professor, but Albus didn't trust him, a former Death Eater, to teach that to children. While a dueling club wouldn't be the same as actually teaching DADA, and it would be additional work load, Severus found that he wanted to do it.

"I'll do it." – he blurted out without even realizing that he said it out loud.

"Excellent." – smiled the deputy headmistress – "Now, how is the children's progress in Potions?"

Professor Snape blinked at the abrupt subject change:

"Well, Draco Malfoy is on top of things as usual, though this year he is closely followed by Mr. Potter." – it was hard for Severus to admit that the Potter spawn was not just a mini-James, but the boy's near perfect marks did a lot of good – "Mr. Weasley, the youngest that is, is doing even worse than Crabbe and Goyle, not that I thought such a thing possible. That know-it-all Granger is still affected by the spell, whoever put it on her. Also I was rather pleasantly surprised with Longbottom. After becoming friends with Potter he apparently found his spine, with his extraordinary knowledge of Herbology, they really work well together. How are your classes?"

Minerva shrugged a bit:

"Also pretty good, well not counting Miss Granger that is. I just don't understand it… why would someone put such a spell on her?"

Severus snorted:

"You don't really get it? All last year she was a bloody menace. Whenever I ask the class a question, she practically jumped out of her seat to answer. It was like she didn't understand that she was not the only student in the class."

Minerva blushed a bit, recalling that she herself was very similar to the bushy haired Gryffindor:

"Well, you are right on that point. But it's been going on for two months now…"

Snape shrugged uncaringly:

"Well then inspect her belongings like parchment, quills… that sort of thing… if there is nothing there, then take her St. Mungoe's."

The Head of Gryffindor blinked a few times and fought down the urge to bang her head on the table:

"Now why didn't I think of that myself?" – she muttered under her breath, but the younger wizard still heard thanks to his keen senses and smirked at the older woman.

Soon the other professors arrived and the meeting went smoothly, it turned out that unfortunately Ms. Granger wasn't doing well in any of her classes, while Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and even Neville Longbottom were on a roll. Minerva also announced the creation of the Duelling Club and made Severus the one in charge with professor Flitwick as his aid. That was of course done so that Dumbledore wouldn't have the chance to involve Lockhart. Well, Lockhart himself was enraged that his idea passed, but he was not the one in charge. The idiot tried to argue with the decision and so Minerva said that he'd have to prove his skill first and defeat Severus in a formal wizarding duel. Obviously the blond turkey had no guts to do something like that, so the matter was resolved.

* * *

While Neville managed to drag Harry to classes that day, the boy flat out refused to go the feast. Instead he accepted Nearly Headless Nick's invitation to the ghost's Death Day party. The twins and, surprisingly enough, Pansy went with him, since it was a more unique thing than a Halloween Feast… that and they didn't want to leave Harry alone.

The party itself turned out to be rather dull and the food was totally inedible and so Harry felt guilty for being the reason his friends came here:

"I'm sorry, guys…" – he muttered as they were going back to Gryffindor Tower – "… I didn't know it would be that boring…"

"Well," – drawled Pansy, as came to the staircase that led to the dungeons – "at least it was interesting from an academic point of view. Don't worry, Potter, as long you do not make your birthday party like that I don't think it matters."

"Yeah, like little Ms. snake said…" – chuckled Fred, earning himself a dirty look from Pansy – "We wanted to keep you company, so we went. No big deal, now hurry up, if we're lucky we can have a snack in the kitchens."

George rolled his eyes at the unoriginal nickname:

"Goodnight Pansy…" – then he frowned at something at the end of the corridor – "You guys, what is that?"

Harry and Fred turned to look and saw the huge puddle of water. Harry was confused and went to have a closer look:

"Shit! We have to get out of here!" – he ran back to Fred and George – "We can take the long way to the tower. If Filch sees us here, he'll kill us."

Fred, who was also quite curious and followed Harry for a closer peek was equally unnerved. Thus the trio ran off back to the Great Hall and took the stairs up to the Tower.

* * *

When Neville came back from the Feast, the boys told him all about the water in the corridor, the strange message on the wall and the apparently dead cat hanging from a torch by her tail.

"Enemies of the Heir beware?" – he repeated quietly – "The Chamber has been opened?... It does sound sort of ominous… you guys were really lucky you weren't caught."

George nodded with a sigh:

"That's true I suppose. I wonder… what is Dumbledore going to say about the episode?"

"My money goes on he tries to cover it up." – said Fred at once.

Neville rolled his eyes:

"That's so obvious that even I'm not going to argue. Of course he'll cover it up, as long as no one else saw the cat before he was alerted to the event. However we should really try and figure out who's this Heir and what Chamber they mean… because if someone is up to something serious, I don't think they'll stop with a dead cat."

George watched his friends with a smile, but he was really worried. Strange things always happened at Hogwarts, but not the sort of things that could kill someone… until last year that is. From all the bragging Ron had done over the summer, the twins, along with the rest of the family, were aware of pretty much all the detail of the 'Sorcerer's Stone' fiasco. However they didn't know what happened at the end, when Harry was left alone to face Quirrel who was trying to steal the stone.

_'Really, why do these things happen around him?'_ – thought the older Weasley twin – _'It's like he's a danger magnet. Oh, well… I guess we should be more careful from now, because I'm pretty sure this will not end with just a cat…'_

Harry sat down near George and asked nervously:

"Do you think I'll manage to avoid getting involved in this?"

The ginger ruffled Harry's hair with a smile:

"Well how should I know? I'm not a Seer. However, one way or another you have us: me, Fred, Neville, even Draco and Pansy. We won't let you face whatever this is on your own. You're not alone Harry."

The boy gave the older wizard a radiant smile:

"Thanks. You know, I really envy Ron and Ginny…"

"Oh? Why would that be?"

"They get to have you two as brothers… I wish I had brothers like the two of you…" – Harry's voice was a little sad.

Fred and Neville came over and dropped down to sit beside Harry. Neville gave him a pat on the back:

"You idiot, just because we're not related by blood… though I'm sure that if we study our family trees close enough, we'll discover that we are some distant cousins, like all purebloods are."

This caused Harry to pause:

"Yeah, I suppose that is true… I never really thought about it like that. Cool."

"Well anyway, boys, it's late." – Fred broke the moment – "Go to bed. Even though it's Saturday tomorrow, you really should get a good night sleep."

"Wow, Fred…" – drawled his brother as he stood up and went to the door – "That was the most mature thing you've ever said…" – with that he winked at the younger boys and ran out of the room with Fred hot on his heels.

* * *

**Author's Note: And I'll stop here. Finally things began moving :) I hope you liked the chapter.  
Now I have another question for you:  
Should the Weasley twins be:  
1) **straight (paired with different girls);**  
2) **bi-sexual (paired with each other and one of the girls);**  
3) **gay (paired with each other or different boys or with each other and another boy).**  
Though I'll say this now - I'm giving the twins a creature inheritance, just not sure what kind.**


	14. Horrid Detention&Disaster Strikes Again

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

This caused Harry to pause:

"Yeah, I suppose that is true… I never really thought about it like that. Cool."

"Well anyway, boys, it's late." – Fred broke the moment – "Go to bed. Even though it's Saturday tomorrow, you really should get a good night sleep."

"Wow, Fred…" – drawled his brother as he stood up and went to the door – "That was the most mature thing you've ever said…" – with that he winked at the younger boys and ran out of the room with Fred hot on his heels.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN.**

Like Fred predicted, Dumbledore said nothing about the demised cat, though Filch was unusually angry… of course it was only unusual if one knew nothing about the fate of his cat. Harry and his friends decided it would be wise to stay away from the man and not get in trouble for the time being. After breakfast they caught up to Pansy and Draco and dragged the two Slytherins into an unused classroom, where they clued the two on the latest event. It was Draco who suggested that it could be Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. The idea was a sound one, though the kids decided to only get involved on the research level. After all it was common knowledge that Slytherin left some sort of monster in his chamber, though no one knew what the monster was and more importantly, no one believed the chamber to really exist.

"I'm telling you, this has no business to be in the restricted section…" – said Draco when they were stuck in the library one evening – "We've already read what was written in 'Hogwarts: A History'. Do you really think we'll find anything else here?"

Neville shrugged:

"No idea. However I have no desire to write Gran and ask her about this. If you think a Family library is a better place, why don't you ask your father?"

Draco cringed. His father's activity as a Death Eater during the first rise of the Dark Lord was a common topic for his arguments with the Longbottom heir. Potter seemed to not care about Lucius' past, but Neville's parents were killed by Death Eaters, so he was rather touchy:

"Longbottom, your library probably has the same books as mine. So what's the deal with not wanting to ask your Gran?"

The slightly chubby Neville grimaced:

"She'll only say that it's a story and I should get such nonsense out of my head…" – he mumbled.

Draco winced in sympathy:

"Ouch… that would be unpleasant. Pans, how about you?"

The girl shrugged and looked from one boy to another:

"You know you two are totally useless, right?"

Neville nodded gravely and Draco gave her his best puppy dog eyes, though it only caused her to snicker:

"Puppy eyes, Draco? Seriously? I practically invented that look; it's not going to work. But still this mystery is important. I'll write daddy and ask if he knows anything."

"Thanks Pans…" – said Draco.

"Not so fast," – smirked Pansy – "I'll ask daddy… and you'll help me with the Potions essay."

This made both boys roll their eyes and snicker at how totally Slytherin Pansy was.

"Fine." – he said.

* * *

While his friends were busy researching and the twins were off doing who knows what, Harry was stuck in detention. Not only was the detention served with Lockhart, but the idiot had him helping with his fan mail. It was absolutely ridiculous, but it got Harry thinking – he was the 'Boy-Who-Lived', he was definitely more famous than his idiot of a teacher. Then why did he never receive any mail from anyone? Not that Harry wanted to get fan mail, but it was still weird. Thus he put it on his mental 'to-do' list. With a sigh he turned his attention back to Lockhart.

"… so you see, Harry, my boy, you really need to manage your fame correctly." – the peacock was saying – "I'm sure I can give you a few tips. For one, you always need to send at least a small note to thank for the attention, or gift. This will make sure your fans know that you care for them…"

Harry mentally rolled his eyes: _'Well, at least there is one thing he's good at… though I really don't appreciate him thinking of me as of some sort of apprentice in the fame department. That would surely give me a swift way back into Snape's black book… and I certainly don't need that.'_

**_$Sso hungry… Come to me… Let me kill you…$_** - the strange voice murmured, making Harry glance around warily. A look at Lockhart told the boy that either the voice was his hallucination, or Lockhart was too absorbed in his fan mail to pay attention. One way or another, Harry knew full well that hearing voices was a bad thing so he didn't mention the strange occurrence to the professor.

_'I'm definitely telling the guys about this… I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy, so it's something strange happening… Still, no use telling this idiot… he'd be too stupid to notice a wall in front of him until he walked into it…'_ – he thought derisively as he wondered just when the peacock would remember that it was almost curfew and let him go already. Finally he just couldn't take any more of the torture:

"Professor Lockhart, sir?" – he asked sweetly, gagging inside.

"Yes, my boy?" – came the reply that caused Harry to bristle. He hated being called that. It was like the man was a pedophile or something.

"Sir, it's almost curfew."

"Oh, dear boy, you should have said told me earlier. But I suppose we just lost track of time, reading fan mail is interesting, isn't it?"

"Absolutely, professor." – Harry forced himself to say.

"Well then, you'd better run to your dorm."

With a nod Harry dashed out of the classroom as if the devil was after him. He was so busy running, that he didn't notice the man in front of him until he bowled him over.

"Ow.." – muttered Harry, as he rubbed his head – "Sorry for running into you." – he looked up and gulped in horror. He ran into his potions master.

Severus smirked inwardly, though it didn't show on his face:

"Mr. Potter…" – he drawled – "It's almost curfew and you're running around the castle… Why ever are you not in your Tower by now?"

"Professor Snape. I'm really sorry for running into you. I was on my way to the Tower, sir. My detention ran long." He made a face at the mention of his detention.

"Oh? Your detention did not agree with you?" – he asked casually as he helped the boy to get onto his feet.

"One can only endure so much that peacock's presence at one time…" – muttered Harry under his breath and then said louder – "Professor Lockhart had me help him answer his mail."

Had this happened the previous year, Severus would definitely go on a rant about how Harry must certainly enjoy his fame and love the attention, but things were different than last year and even though he was still very strict with the brat, he did not hate him. He also heard the mumbled part of the sentence and thus gave the young Gryffindor a slight smile:

"And does our famous professor have as many adoring fans as you do, Mr. Potter?"

Harry's first reaction was to take offence, but he noticed the small smile gracing the Potions Master's lips and understood that the wizard was actually teasing him:

"I'm not sure, it's not like I ever get any fan mail of my own..." – said the child – "… not that I actually want any… But it looks like it takes a lot of time. We spent 4 hours doing it and didn't even finish half of it."

Severus mentally snorted, though he did wonder how could the 'boy-who-lived' not get any mail from fans. That was practically impossible. Still, it was none of his business:

"Well then. I doubt Lockhart gave you a note." – here Harry cringed, expecting another detention – "Follow me, Mr. Potter, I shall take you to your Tower."

With that the man turned around and strode down the corridor. Harry shook his head in bewilderment and hurried after the retreating form of his professor. They were walking up the stairs, when Harry noticed a boy lying on the floor at the 3rd floor. He frowned and called out to his teacher:

"Professor Snape, sir?"

The man stopped and raised an inquiring eyebrow:

"Is something the matter, Mr. Potter?"

"There is a boy lying there." – Harry said flatly and pointed at the unmoving body. Snape paled slightly and quickly moved in the mentioned direction.

"Dear Merlin…" – murmured the man, as he examined the boy – "Just like that cat…" – he glanced at Harry – "Go to your Tower, Mr. Potter. Now."

Harry nodded and raced the stairs. Of course he wanted to know what was going on, but the urgency in Snape's voice persuaded him to do as asked.

* * *

When he arrived at the Tower, thankfully without running into Filch, he ran into Hermione, who was writing yet another essay. Harry noted that the girl looked rather miserable and tired with rings under her eyes. For a moment he even felt sorry for her. Then the girl saw him and glared at him:

"You! I know it's your fault!" – she snarled and Harry tensed – "What did you do to me? Tell me!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Granger." – he replied calmly, though on the inside he slowly began freaking out.

"You're lying!" – shrieked the girl, clearly hysterical – "How did you and Malfoy become so good all of the sudden?"

Harry pursed his lips and glared at his former friend who now looked like some escaped crazy person:

"Draco and I study a lot!" – he bit out – "Just because someone cursed you, doesn't give you a right to shriek at me."

The girl looked like she was ready to attack him, so Harry quickly escaped to his room, where he found Neville laughing and giggling, while Fred tickled him mercilessly. Harry put away his books and stripped out of the uniform.

"Hey guys!" – he said as he fell down onto his bed – "Where's George?"

"Oh?" – teased Fred – "Does little Harry only care for George? Are Neville and I not enough for you, oh Lord Potter?"

Harry rolled his eyes and snorted at the red head's antics:

"Oh no, the two of you are more than enough, but really, George is like… like an older brother – so responsible, caring and still fun and mischievous, while you two goofs are like younger siblings… but anyway, a student was attacked."

The two on Neville's bed instantly sobered and sat up:

"What do you mean attacked?" – demanded Fred – "Attacked how? By who?"

Harry shrugged:

"No idea. Snape was walking me to the Tower, since it was close to the curfew. I spotted the body on the third floor near the staircase, so I pointed it out to Snape. He told me to go to the Tower, so I decided it was a good idea and went back… oh and I was harassed by Granger just now."

Just then George came in. He looked rather haggard:

"Whatever it was that got Filch's cat struck again. First year Gryffindor Colin Creevey, muggleborn, was attacked today. He was found on the third floor holding his camera. He was petrified. When they opened the camera to see if he took a picture of his attacker, it blew up into Dumbledore's face."

This earned a small giggle out of Neville and Harry.

"… Also, I changed the potion in Granger's ink. Now she will think she's writing gibberish, while in all actuality it will be readable." – finished George as he came to sit next to Harry.

"What do you mean his camera blew up?" – asked Harry – "And how do you know about that? I doubt Dumbledore would tell students about all the details…"

The older twin ruffled Harry's hair, as he did quite often, and chuckled:

"Quite sharp, aren't you? Fine, I was returning to the common room, when I saw Snape rushing upstairs with Creevey floating behind him. You know me, I'm genetically very curious, so I followed them to the Infirmary. And listened to Dumbledore rave about 'how could this be happening again, how he was sure there was no new heir at school, what's going on and so on'…"

Neville frowned:

"Well, at least we know that the Chamber really exists and Dumbledore must have a clue to what's going on."

Harry shrugged:

"Most likely, though it's not like it actually does us any good. Nev, did your Gran write back about the solicitor?"

The Longbottom heir smiled sheepishly:

"Oh, yes, she did. Yesterday in fact. Sorry, I forgot. Snape's essay and our daily trips to the library didn't give me much free time. Here it is." – he passed Harry an envelope. Potter opened it at once.

_[Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I thank you for being friends with my grandson. Also it is not unusual at all for pureblood families hire a solicitor. Just because you happen to be younger than most Lords doesn't mean anything. I can recommend you the 'Jenks & Jenks' company. They are well known in the pureblood society, they handle our family's affairs as well as the Malfoys' and the Black's. I doubt you will find someone._

_Sincerely,  
_

_Augusta Longbottom,_

_Dowager Lady of the House Longbottom.]_

Harry smiled:

"Well, this is good news. I'll have to set up a meeting at some point, though not until the break obviously... Good night."

With that he turned onto his side, snuggled into his pillow and drifted off to sleep, paying no attention to the twins who were still in the room.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, there it is. Once again Harry escapes unnoticed. I hope my twins are not too OOC, but I like them this way.  
Thank you to those who have reviewed the story, I value each review that I get. Next chapter is just around the corner =)  
**


	15. Death at Hogwarts and Christmas Presents

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay people, but yesterday I was really busy having a hangover and thus didn't manage to post this in a timely fashion. I hope you enjoy it.  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Harry smiled:

"Well, this is good news. I'll have to set up a meeting at some point, though not until the break obviously... Good night."

With that he turned onto his side, snuggled into his pillow and drifted off to sleep, paying no attention to the twins who were still in the room.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN.**

When Dumbledore announced that Colin Creevey had an accident and was taken home, even Pansy and Draco were enraged. They knew Dumbledore was bad news, but this was really over the top. The professors who were aware of the situation, namely Minerva and Severus, as well as the school nurse Madam Pomfrey, were practically outraged, but there really wasn't that much they could do.

"At this point I wonder if it's not a good idea to let the Governors know…" – sighed Minerva as the three adults were drinking tea in Madam Pomfrey's office at the Hospital Wing.

"To what end?" – asked Poppy – "They are most likely too scared to do anything…"

Severus blinked:

"I do think this could work. We just need to approach the one that is not overly fond of Dumbledore."

Minerva arched an eyebrow:

"Oh really? Which one would that be?"

"Well, Malfoy for one…"

"No!" – came the abrupt answer – "We're trying to get Albus under control, not fire him!"

"If you actually think that can be done, you're more naïve than is proper at your age!" – spat Snape.

"Settle down, both of you." – snapped the matron – "Severus has the correct idea, however Lucius Malfoy is certainly not the correct person to involve in this. Don't forget that he is a pureblood idealist, he doesn't like muggleborns and as long as they are the only ones targeted we can't be sure he'll act. Not to mention that so far we only have a dead cat and a petrified boy."

"Darn it…" – grumbled Minerva – "You're right… we don't have any choice but wait. I'd suggest we try to figure out where is the Chamber and how to get there… but we've tried that last time."

"I'm sure Salazar's chamber can't be accessed by just anyone." – snorted Severus – "There must be powerful wards that only let the chosen people enter."

"Well anyway, do tell me if you think of something." – concluded Poppy – "In the meantime I have to go give another potion to Ms. Granger."

"Granger?" – asked both McGonagall and Snape.

"Yes. She was brought in by Percy Weasley and Parvati Patil. She is absolutely hysteric and no potions or spells I tried are working. She's wailing under a silence charm, but it's like she's not there. I'll do my best today, but I'm afraid we'll have to send the girl to St. Mungo's."

Severus winced. As much as he loathed the insufferable girl, this was not something he would wish to happen to anyone.

* * *

What happened the next day though, was much worse than having to said the Gryffindor Muggleborn to the hospital. It so happened that the girl woke up at light and wandered out of the hospital wing, she was found the next day in the library... dead. Since she was found by the students, there was no way for Dumbledore to cover it up and he had to admit to the attacks at school. Thus the headmaster was put on probation. After that the life at school went on uninterrupted and soon it was Christmas.

Most of the students, with only a few exceptions, went home to spend time with their families. As much as Harry's friends wanted to stay with him, he insisted that they should spend the holidays with their families. Thus the only company he had for the duration of the holidays were first year Ravenclaw Luna Lovegood and fourth year Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory.

At first Harry just stayed at the Library, doing the few holiday assignments that they actually had and then continuing his quest to understand the wizarding world and the laws that kept the society functioning properly. After all he would in a couple of years become a Lord of two ancient Families and gain access to his seats on the Wizengamot and the Hogwarts board of Governors. But then one day before Christmas, or Yule, as Harry learnt the holiday was actually called in the wizarding world, not that anyone except the Purebloods remembered or cared about it, his peace and quiet was interrupted by the strange Ravenclaw girl. Her name, Harry remembered, was Luna and so far Harry thought she was the strangest person he'd ever met, including the crazy cat lady from across the street at Privet Drive and the idiot peacock that was their DADA professor. Thus, the Potter heir was not overly eager to get to know her better, but the girl was hard to deter and finally Harry found himself having tea with the mentioned girl.

"So then, Luna, what can I do for you?" – he asked politely.

"Not really what you can do for me, more like what I can do for you…" – she said in a sing-song voice, smiling absently.

"I don't quite…" – he started saying, but was interrupted.

"You have a house elf following you around all the time… did you know?" – she said in the same eerie tone of voice.

"What?" – he asked rather stupidly – "Why would a house elf be following me around?"

"I don't really know," – replied Luna – "But it is my understanding that the creature is highly obsessed with you and most likely off his rocker."

This made Harry much less eager to get rid of the girl. After day he blew up in front of Neville and the twins, he made sure to ask one of the muggleborns (most certainly not Hermione) and borrow their pamphlet. After reading it, he found himself with a lot of new questions. Some of them were answered by his friends, but there were still those he needed to research for himself. House elves were such a question. Draco, Pansy and Neville said that the elves were a sort of creatures that liked working. This was nowhere near what Harry wanted to know, so he looked it up. Now he knew that the house elves were nothing like those elves that feature in muggle fairy tales and fiction novels. Actually they were practically the opposite. The books said that the elves were to be bound to their master for their own health. This meant that the longer an elf stayed without a proper master, the quicker their magic withered. As soon as the magic was gone, the elf itself died. Before that bit of info came to light, Harry thought about poor elves, forced to do all the work, but in the end he realized that it was yet another way in which his own experiences at the Dursleys and all the history lessons in Muggle School influenced his perception of the wizarding world. This discovery unsettled him a lot, because what little knowledge he found about the basics for the chaos caused first by Grindewald and then Voldemort suggested that their main concern was the assimilation of the wizarding culture into the muggle one and the high percentage of muggleborns and squibs. Harry then spent a lot of practically sleepless nights trying to figure out what he himself believed in, but of course he was just a 12 year old kid and thankfully was not required to know what path to follow so early in life.

Harry shook his head to clear it from the thoughts that were currently distracting him and concentrated again on the girl in question, who was still drinking her very sweet tea and hugging an animated pink elephant plush toy. He smiled at how strange and unique the girl was.

"What do you mean obsessed with me?"

"Oh well, he's always following you around and ever since the attack on Colin, the elf is constantly mumbling about he had to 'keep Mr. Harry Potter sir safe'."

"Okay… that is weird…" – muttered Harry, slightly freaked out. There was apparently a creature following him around all the time and he never once noticed.

"It is, is it not?" – agreed Luna and then promptly flounced out of the Library.

* * *

On Christmas Morning Harry woke up rather late, around 11 am, and promptly went to look for his presents. There quite a few of them, several even from totally unknown people. Harry received a Weasley sweater from Missis Weasley, which he sat aside and instead read the attached letter, just to see what the woman would say. Last summer he would probably be ashamed of himself, but right now he couldn't help laughing as he read the letter.

_[Dear Harry,_

_A Merry Christmas to you my boy. Why didn't you come to the Burrow last summer? I sent at least three letters myself and I'm pretty sure Albus wrote as well. Well no matter, I hope you'll come and visit next summer. Both Ron and Ginny miss you a lot, especially considering what happened to poor Hermione._

_Have nice holidays,_

_Molly Weasley.]_

_'One would think the woman doesn't communicate with her children at all…' _– thought Harry – _'I mean she could say that the twins miss me, I'd believe that. But Ronald and his sister? That's just ridiculous. I wonder how she managed to get into Gryffindor? From what Neville and the twins said, the chit only associates with the purebloods that are in her year.'_

_'One would think the woman doesn't communicate with her children at all…' _– thought Harry – _'I mean she could say that the twins miss me, I'd believe that. But Ronald and his sister? That's just ridiculous. I wonder how she managed to get into Gryffindor in the first place? From what Neville and the twins said, the chit only associates with the purebloods that are in her year.'_

Harry balled up the letter and threw it into the fire, before going for the next present. This one was obviously from the twins and it consisted of a book called '101 ways to prank your enemies' and a blank and rather old piece of parchment. Knowing George and Fred as well as he did, Harry knew that the parchment had to have some sort of secret inside, he just couldn't figure out what it was or how to access it. Thus he placed the parchment into the special compartment in his trunk that also contained the album with James & Lily's pictures and James' invisibility cloak. The pranking book was stored with the rest of Harry's books.

_'Well, I can always trust Fred and George to give me something both and amusing and useful… I wonder if there is something there that I can use to prank Lockhart?'_– he wondered idly, as he unwrapped another present. It was from Pansy and it was … a plush toy. He looked at the stuffed green snake and snorted in delight. No matter that he was already 12, but he never had a stuffed toy… or any toy even, and this one was very cute. The toy was a snake with huge eyes made in anime style. The snake was quite large and soft… and animated. In a way it reminded Harry of Luna's elephant. There was also a present in green paper with a silver note attached to it; it was Draco Malfoy. Inside the box was a thick book on wizarding rituals associated with magical holidays.

_'Now this is certainly both useful and interesting.'_– decided Harry with a smile and put the book aside. There were now only the presents from the people he didn't know left. He received a will of Mrs. Atlanta Blackmoore in which the old witch left him everything she had, since her own family was killed by Death Eaters. The next few letters were of similar value, he was left as Heir to the families Rosewood, Flamel and Leroux. The last one was obviously French and quite wealthy. Harry sighed – this meant a visit to Gringotts and some time in the genealogy section, which had a full collection of books with information on the Pureblood Houses and their standing in the Wizarding Society. Unfortunately, as Harry discovered earlier that year, the books could only be accessed by someone who had the blood of the corresponding family in them. Otherwise there would only be names of the living members of the house. This was still useful to Harry, since no one would learn of his Black heritage until he himself was ready to release the secret.

_'I wonder why I only started receiving things like this now? Or maybe there is a stack of those somewhere? If I was left at the Dursleys by Dumbledore, then he might as well have my fan mail…'_ – he stopped and blinked. The thought of Dumbledore keeping things that were sent to Harry didn't sit well with the boy, but since the old bastard was paying the Weasleys from Harry's vault, then it didn't come as that big of a shock.

Also, Harry was pleased to see, he finally received a reply to the letter he sent to the solicitor company Augusta Longbottom recommended. He eagerly opened it and even mouthed the words as he read it.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yep, I killed Hermione, please don't hate me. Anyway, the revenge on the Weasleys is finally beginning ot take shape, so stay with me and you'll find out what the big plan is :)  
**


	16. Of Elves And Duels

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

_'I wonder why I only started receiving things like this now? Or maybe there is a stack of those somewhere? If I was left at the Dursleys by Dumbledore, then he might as well have my fan mail…'_ – he stopped and blinked. The thought of Dumbledore keeping things that were sent to Harry didn't sit well with the boy, but since the old bastard was paying the Weasleys from Harry's vault, then it didn't come as that big of a shock.

Also, Harry was pleased to see, he finally received a reply to the letter he sent to the solicitor company Augusta Longbottom recommended. He eagerly opened it and even mouthed the words as he read it.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN.**

_[Dear Mr. H. J. Potter,_

_We at the 'Jenks & Jenks' company are honored that you chose us to represent yourself in the legal matters. We suggest a meeting at your convenience to draw up the contract and choose a solicitor that will be the best choice for you._

_Sincerely your,_

_H. N. Jenks]_

Harry scratched his head, as he pondered the situation. This was certainly a slight glitch in the scheme he was planning, since couldn't really get out of school until the summer. And waiting until summer was out of question. He thought hard about what to do and then he cackled madly, as he found a way. It was rather tricky, but achievable none the less. He then went through the rest of the presents which mostly were just cards with 'Merry Christmas' wishes until he stopped at the last one. This was just a card as well, but the sender wished him a 'Harry Yule' and it brought a smile on Harry's face.

The next few hours Harry was busy replying to the people who bothered to send him gifts, thinking it was good manners and so on. He also scheduled the meeting with the solicitor on February, 14th and asked to have the meeting somewhere in Hogsmead. He just hoped his plan to let himself into the wizarding village would go smoothly, he was rather impatient to properly pay Dumbledore and the Weasleys back for all the things they did to him. That evening before going to bed Harry put a **'****Congelo ****Praensus****'****[1]** ward around the whole room. Ever since Luna told him about the house elf, he tried to cast it and now he would try and catch the creature.

The next day Harry saw a house elf for the first time in his life. He was faintly surprised, since he wasn't 100% sure that the spell would work because he studied it himself. But soon his attention went to the creature and he curiously looked over the frozen figure. The elf was rather small, its' head would probably be at Harry's knee level. The creature was wearing what appeared to be a pillow case, had absolutely enormous eyes and huge ears. All in all it was a rather funny creature. Finally harry released the ward with a simple 'Finite Incantatum' and watched as the elf stood up and promptly began beating itself on the head with a lamp.

"Stop that at once!" – snapped Harry. He knew the elf was not really obligated to obey him, since he wasn't its' master, but Harry needed to at least know whose elf it was, so he could take the matter up with the owner.

And as commanded, the elf practically froze, lamp still clutched in his small hand. The creature was trembling with its' desire to continue the self-appointed punishment, but the command held true, though Harry had no idea why that was. He glared at the small elf:

"Who are you and why have you been following me around?" – had Harry not known that the elf was his personal stalker, he probably would have made an effort to be more polite but as it was, he didn't give a shit about what the creature would think about him.

"I… be Dobby, Mister Harry Potter, sir… " – came the muttered reply – "I wanting to save Mister Harry Potter sir…"

_'Well, this is certainly not helpful…'_ – thought Harry as he thought about what question best to ask.

"Save from what, Dobby?" – Harry asked, getting slightly frustrated.

"From the great evil master let out…" – with that the elf began wailing about being a bad elf and trying to hit itself with the lamp again.

Harry being slightly more logical then last year asked:

"Did your master plan on this evil happening?"

"N-no… but Dobby still helps Mister Harry Potter sir."- came the sullen reply.

"N-no… but Dobby still helps Mister Harry Potter sir."- came the sullen reply.

Harry relaxed slightly – of course it was bad that someone allowed for this to happen, but since the person didn't plan on this happening, Harry decided not to place blame where it was not needed:

"Does your Master know you've been stalking me?"- Potter asked sternly.

"Dobby not be staling the honorable Mister Harry Potter sir!" – protested the elf and much to Harry's annoyance once more tried to punish itself.

"And your Master is?"

There was silence as Dobby tried to escape answering the question but was not successful. Instead the creature just disappeared with a loud 'CLICK'.

* * *

As the holidays came to their end, Harry had already started his plan to enable his meeting with the solicitor to take place. He was brewing the Polijuice Potion. Of course the ingredients were hard to come by and the potion was not something a 12 year old kid could brew without raising suspicion, so Harry had to order quite a lot of extra ingredients to throw off the suspicions. The potion itself had to be brewed for a month, so Harry started as soon as he could and there were still 3 weeks to go. He didn't want anyone to know what he was doing, so he had to learn the **'****Abigo ****Incantatoris'****[2]** and the **'****Invisibilis ****Spacium'****[3] **spells to make sure no one would accidentally stumble on the unused classroom that he chose to brew the potion in.

When he met up with his friends he was showered with how their friends spent Christmas. While these tales were not overly interesting, Harry still felt that it was nice of them to share, since Harry himself didn't really know what Christmas was about. Sure he attended the stupid dinner Dumbledore arranged, but he slipped away as soon as he could.

When asked about his own holidays, Harry told them everything. The Weasleys were angry about someone stopping Harry's mail, Neville was on about how politically powerful Harry could be in a few years, Pansy was glad Harry liked his Yule present and Draco was rather pensive for no apparent reason.

"Draco, what's up?" – asked Harry cautiously.

The blond shook off the stun spell his mind was under and glanced at Harry:

"You said you're being followed around by a house elf called Dobby?"

"Yes, why?" – wondered Potter.

"Nothing much probably, but my family does have an elf called Dobby."

"Really?" – exclaimed Harry – "Can you summon him? And if it's the same elf, please order it to stay the hell away from me."

"Sure." – Draco agreed easily and snapped his fingers that caused the elf materialize in front of them.

"Yep, that's the little critter." – Harry said, as he recognized the elf.

"Mister Harry Potter sir…" – whimpered the elf, which made all of Harry's friends snicker at the ridiculous name, which in turn made Harry glare at them.

The next half an hour was spent interrogating the very stubborn elf, but unfortunately either the creature knew close to nothing, or they were asking all the wrong questions. Finally Draco snapped:

"Dobby, from this moment I order you to stay away from Harry Potter! At least 1 mile! Now be gone!"

The elf looked like it was poked in the eyes with a hot iron bat or something, but he vanished none the less.

"Thanks." – sighed Harry gratefully – "at least now I can sleep and shower safely and know that I'm not watched by some creep."

This made all of them shudder in disgust and quickly change the topic of the conversation.

* * *

As time went by, Minerva McGonagall made sure to keep an eye on Dumbledore, thus the job of watching Lockhart was passed to Severus, who was only too happy to accept. He sat in on one of Gilderoy's lessons and when he told Minerva about the joke that Lockhart made out of DADA, the deputy headmistress took the issue up to the Governors of Hogwarts and was rather pleased with the outcome. They did not fire the man at once, but they did place him on probation – one more unsatisfactory class and his career as the Hogwarts DADA Professor would come to an untimely end. This was the reason Lockhart had a really hard time preparing lesson plans, after all it's not like he was anything other than a fame hungry writer.

Another pleasant thing was that the Dueling Club was finally started. Since Snape was the one in charge most of the Slytherins attended, while the rest of the students either came because Flitwick would be there so surely Snape wouldn't be too bad, or didn't come at all. Harry & co were among the first to arrive at the huge room to the side of the Great Hall that was used to hold the meeting. Everyone was astounded at the amount of knowledge Snape possessed and the way he spoke about the various curses and jinxes allowed Harry and everyone else to realize that Severus Snape was actually a very good teacher, he simply needed to teach about something that he had true passion for and while he was an excellent Potions Master, DADA & Dark Arts were what the man really loved. Unfortunately in a school controlled by Dumbledore he had no way to get what he wanted, thus he made best of this unexpected chance that was presented to him.

"Now then," – spoke Snape as finally the theoretical part seemed to be over – "You will divide yourselves into groups of five people each and practice. The spells we're going today are: **'****Rapidus ****Caecitas****'**[4], **'****Tego****'**[5] and **'****Vincio****'**[6]. The first one is an offensive hex that will blind your opponent for at least 10 minutes depending on the magical strength of the caster. The counter is **'****Dono ****Adspectus****'**[7]. The next one is a protective ward. Unlike the '**Protego**' spell that you all should already be familiar with, '**Tego**' will be active until you cancel the spell yourself, but it is a constant drain on your magical core, so it can't be maintained for long. I'd actually recommend to only use it in emergencies, as it can even stop physical attack, not just magical ones. The last spell is the '**Vincio**' jinx and it is quite similar in effect to spells like '**Mobilicorpus**' & '**Petrificus Totalus**', however it does not require as much power and concentration as the other two. The '**Rapidus** **Caecitas'** and its' counter will be practiced on rats, since an incorrectly cast hex can completely and permanently blind an opponent. Now in a real fight that might not be a big problem, but since we're here for learning purposes only, both Professor Flitwick and I feel it better if you do not attempt to cast this on your fellow classmates. The other two spells can be safely practiced on humans, so get to it, we don't have all day!"

And so the session began. Practising on rats didn't feel all that nice, but Harry thought the hex was quite useful, so made sure to try very hard and was thus rewarded with rather quick results. He also noted that the hex had a very distinct color, both purple and ink at the same time. Thus Harry voiced his interest to Flitwick who was passing by their group that consisted of Harry, Neville, Draco and Pansy:

"Professor Flitwick, sir, I'd like to ask a question if I may."

"By all means, Mr. Potter, go ahead." – replied the miniature professor.

"Is there any way to cast without the flash? Because the color of this hex is rather distinctive…"

The tiny man chuckled:

"Why, Mister Potter, of course it can be done, but I'm afraid you're quite a bit too young for that."

"Oh…" – muttered Harry, feeling slightly put out, but of course, his logical sight insisted, he was just twelve years old and it was just his second year at Hogwarts. None the less Harry was sure he'd get there eventually, no matter how long it took.

* * *

**[1] **from Latin: 'congelo' – freeze & 'praensus' – catch;  
**[2]** from Latin: 'abigo' - repel & 'incantatoris' - wizards;  
**[3]** from Latin: 'invisibilis' - invisible & 'spacium' - room;  
**[4]** from Latin: 'rapidus' - swift & 'caecitas' - blindness;  
**[5]** from Latin: 'tego' - protect;  
**[6]** from Latin: 'vincio' - bind;  
**[7]** from Latin: 'dono' - grant & 'adspectus' - sight;

**Author's Note: Well, I've introduced Dobby into the story. I don't know if he'll play a big part in the story or not, but** **having him around sure is funny. The spells used in the chapter are ones I came up with on my own with the help of an English-Latin dictionary and are pretty self explanatory.  
**


	17. Another Dead Girl and Down With Lockhart

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

"Is there any way to cast without the flash? Because the color of this hex is rather distinctive…"

The tiny man chuckled:

"Why, Mister Potter, of course it can be done, but I'm afraid you're quite a bit too young for that."

"Oh…" – muttered Harry, feeling slightly put out, but of course, his logical sight insisted, he was just twelve years old and it was just his second year at Hogwarts. None the less Harry was sure he'd get there eventually, no matter how long it took.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN.**

Once the excitement over the Dueling sessions wore off, the children once more concentrated on their primary concerns – classes and quidditch. The first match, being the Ravenclaw – Hufflepuff one, had passed in October without incident and now the Slytherin – Gryffindor one was quickly approaching and Harry was forced to endure Wood's maniacal practices practically every other day. Their training sessions started as early as 6 o'clock and ended just in time for breakfast and then there were the evening ones, which Harry didn't really like, since they cut short both his study time and his friend time.

He complained to the twins practically every evening, since when the practice finally finished and Harry returned to the dorm, Neville would already be fast asleep. His other friends were not very understanding either. Draco had become the Slytherin new seeker and was enjoying himself quite a lot, while Pansy simply didn't care for the game at all. When one evening Harry tied complaining to the Slytherin girl, she just shrugged and said 'If you don't like it, then quit!' Thus Harry's only source of comfort were the twins, who understood him all too well, having to endure the same thing as well.

The quidditch match was the next day and so the practice ran very late into the night. Harry and the twins were heading back to the Gryffindor Tower, thankfully having excuse notes from their Head of House for being out after curfew, when Harry head the voice from Lockhart's classroom again. So much time went by without the voice reappearing that Harry had already convinced himself that it was simply his imagination, thus he started badly when he heard it again.

**_$Kill… food… fresh prey… HUNGRY! GET BACK HERE!$_** - the voice was quite loud and was accompanied by a very faint slithering sound, which Harry didn't really care for because the blood-curdling scream that echoed through the sleeping castle a few minutes later was much more worrisome.

He glanced at George and Fred and asked:

"Should we go see what happened?" – his voice shook slightly – "I mean someone has to be hurt to scream that loud…"

George was quite pale, as was his twin, but he forced himself to push away his own fear and think rationally:

"I'm pretty sure it came from the direction of the staircase, so we'll see what happened one way or the other… though I'm not too sure if we'll want to."

Thus the two teens and their younger friend made their way to the Grand Staircase. Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout were already there along with Lockhart. They were gathered around what looked like a body lying on the ground. As the children approached, their head of house herded them around the body so they couldn't see who was hurt.

* * *

"Oh dear…" – muttered Minerva McGonagall as she watched the body of the Ravenclaw Prefect being carried on a stretcher to the Hospital Wing – "I suppose this will be the end of Dumbledore's carrier at Hogwarts…"

Her voice was a bit sad, but with all the mistakes he's made in the last two years, even Minerva doubted the man's sanity.

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure…" – drawled Snape as he grimaced – "After all the girl clearly fell down from the stairs, I doubt this can be pinned on Dumbledore's bad judgement."

"As a matter of fact, I've spent the last 15 years trying to make Dumbledore allow me to pick out a team and charm the stairs to prevent this very thing from happening." – said Filius sadly.

"Thank Merlin this time it was not a student that found the body at least." – remarked Pomona Sprout, as she dabbed a stray tear with the sleeve of her robes.

"Who's going to tell Dumbledore?" – asked the tiny Charms Professor morosely as they entered the Hospital Wing.

Minerva pursed her lips in distaste:

"I suppose I should, I am his deputy after all… however, Filius, I hope you can contact the girl's parents, she was in your House after all…"

"Yes, yes, I can do that…" – responded Flitwick, as he and Snape lowered the body onto the bed.

Meanwhile Pomona went to the office and soon returned with a sleepy but rather frantic Poppy Pomfrey.

The Matron saw the girl on the bed and gasped:

"Oh Merlin! Isn't this Miss Clearwater?"

A grim nod from Severus was her answer.

"But how did something like this happen?" – she couldn't believe that this was already second death at Hogwarts in the span of one year.

"We don't rightfully know," – said Severus, his voice composed and grim – "We know she fell down from the moving stairs, but we don't know how it happened."

"Well did you send someone to question the portraits? Maybe some of them saw at least something…" – enquired the Matron and both Severus and Pomona flushed slightly, since that did not occur to them. Both Minerva and Filius have already gone to inform Dumbledore and the Clearwater family, so the task of questioning the numerous portraits that hang around the staircase fell to the Slytherin and Hufflepuff heads.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was having a very nice dream for once. It involved himself and Gellert, his onetime lover and the previous Dark Lord. Since it was just a dream, Dumbledore allowed himself to enjoy it.

"Oh, Albus," – sighed the dark haired wizard as he stared at Dumbledore with a very pensive expression on his handsome face – "What have you become?"

"What do you mean, my love?" – he blurted out not understanding.

"Come on, you can't be that dim!" – snapped Grindewald – "I fought for the best of the Wizarding World, yet you didn't like it. You thought muggles deserved better and so you betrayed me. Why didn't you just kill me?"

"I… I… couldn't…" – muttered Dumbledore, eyeing the ground – "I love you still, no matter how wrong it is!"

"Wrong? Wrong how?" – asked Gellert, clearly amused by Dumbledore's blubbering.

"You killed Ariana and I couldn't even make myself kill you!" – yelled Albus.

"Killed Ariana?" – repeated the Dark Lord – "Oh did I really? And here I thought that had you net interfered with me trying to kill the scum that tried to rape her she wouldn't have died…"

At that moment Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore froze. His brain tried to assimilate the new knowledge, but his stubbornness just wouldn't accept that it was his fault all along and that he not only indirectly killed his own sister, but betrayed his lover as well.

"You're just a dream! It's not what happened!" – he spat at the form of his old lover.

Whatever the Dark Lord wanted to say would remain a mystery, however, since Albus Dumbledore was woken up at that moment. He glared at his deputy who stood near his bed:

"Minerva, what is the meaning of this?" – he demanded.

"Penelope Clearwater, Ravenclaw Prefect and pureblood, was found dead. I thought you should know."

Of all the things he thought McGonagall would say, this was certainly not what he expected to hear.

He cursed under his breath and rushed to the hospital wing, still clad in his pajamas with stars and unicorns on them. When he arrived there with Minerva hot on his heels, Pomfrey and an unknown woman were already doing the diagnostics.

"Well?" – he demanded, slightly out of breath.

"Well nothing," – bit out his deputy, glaring at him – "The girl apparently fell from one of the moving staircases."

"Well that is indeed tragic…" – he said, calming slightly – "however this thankfully has nothing with the Chamber of Secrets…"

Minerva gave the old codger her best glare:

"I'm sure that's really a reason to be happy, however we can't say that for sure until Severus, Pomona and Aurora Swiftwind, the auror assigned for the case, complete the interview with the portraits."

"Interview of the portraits?" – parroted Albus incredulously – "Whatever for?"

"Well," – said the woman they never saw before – "most likely to see if the inhabitants of the portraits know anything about the reason this girl fell from the stairs. As the scans suggest, she did die from the fall. However, the adrenaline amount is very high. She was either very nervous or very frightened. Whichever the case, something scared her enough to run away not looking where she was going, thus falling down... or that's the most likely scenario right now."

Minerva blinked at the woman:

"And you are?"

The witch blushed slightly:

"Right, sorry. I'm Auror healer Aurelia Swiftwind. My twin is helping your colleagues with the paintings. The two of us were ordered to monitor and help with the case."

"Is this truly necessary?" – asked Albus in his grandfatherly tone, his eyes twinkling.

"I'm afraid so. This is already the second death at Hogwarts, so the DMLE really can't ignore it. You know what they say, 'better safe than sorry'."

Finally Severus Snape and Pomona Sprout returned to the Hospital Wing. It was already close to sunrise and both were very tired. They were accompanied by a witch in her early thirties with brown eyes and short purple hair. This was Aurora Swiftwind, twin sister of Aurelia Swiftwind. The two women were sent by Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE, to find out just what was going on at Hogwarts. So far it was only obvious that Dumbledore forgot to install safety wards on the staircases, but since no one ever fell down in the 1000 years that the school existed, it was understandable. There was however one peculiar detail that worried Aurora – the petrified portrait.

"Well?" – asked Minerva McGonagall impatiently – "What did you find?"

Severus shrugged:

"Nothing much unfortunately. The portrait of Jesabel Leroux on the fifth floor says Ms. Clearwater came running down the hallway, constantly glancing back and since her head was turned, she didn't see that the staircase had moved and fell down."

"So we went to question the portraits on the fifth floor. Most of them were asleep, so didn't see anything." – continued Pomona, while Severus drank some water – "We did however find a petrified portrait."

"Petrified portrait?" – repeated Minerva & Poppy incredulously.

Albus sighed. Aurors knowing what was going on at Hogwarts was certainly not what he needed. After all if the mess wouldn't be solved by the Potter boy, then it would all be in vain.

"There are some spells like that." – he said to the two witches – "I will have to have a talk with Gilderoy about appropriate attention seeking ways…" – with that he swept out of the Hospital Wing, his mind planning just how to set up his incompetent Defense professor.

The Swiftwind twins blinked at the bizarre behavior of the lemon drop loving headmaster and after saying their goodbyes went back to the Ministry.

* * *

The following day was a solemn one. Penelope Clearwater was a very good student, liked by both the professors and students, thus many were upset about her death. However the one whom this death hit the hardest was Percy Weasley, Penelope's boyfriend. The Gryffindor prefect became very subdued it was like he was functioning on autopilot. Ron, the insensitive git that he was didn't seem to care and neither did Ginny, so the twins took it upon themselves to care for their older brother, thus they were not present in the Great Hall, when Dumbledore made his heartfelt speech about how Gilderoy Lockhart felt his fame dimming and thus decided to stage his another adventure by impersonating the heir of Slytherin. The majority of the student body believed him, as did most of the professors. However there were those who knew he was lying, the four heads of Houses for one and of course Harry Potter.

Harry gathered his friends that day and finally came clean about the voice he'd been hearing at random times.

"What do you mean by 'a voice'?" – asked Pansy softly. Her mother was a mind healer, so the girl knew that there could be different reasons for hearing voices.

Harry scrunched up his face in thought:

"Just a voice, but somehow different… with a weird accent… **_$like thiss$_**... "

This caused everyone to yelp in shock.

"What?" – asked a very confused Harry.

Draco eyed his friend with a very weird expression:

"You mean to tell me that you're a Parselmouth and you don't even realize it?" – he asked in total shock.

"What's a Parcel… parcel… whatever?" – enquired Harry.

"It's snake language." – said Neville nervously.

"So then what? I can speak a language I never learnt?"

"It's not a language you can learn, Harry, it's a blood trait of the Slytherin family!" – exclaimed Pansy.

"Oh…" – was all Harry could say. He knew of course that he was descended from Salazar through the Gaunt family, but he didn't realize he would get some specific magical traits.

"'Oh' and that's it?" – enquired George – "You don't seem overly surprised…"

Harry sighed. Apparently he would have to start revealing his heritage much sooner than he wanted to:

"That's because I'm not. My mother was part of the Gaunt family, thus I am related to Salazar Slytherin."

"But your mother was muggleborn!" – exclaimed Pansy – "That's a known fact!"

"Not really." – muttered Harry – "Her family were squibs, not muggles."

He decided that there was no need to tell them the details yet. Thus the six friends spent the night talking about the 'voice' and what sort of serpent it could belong to.

* * *

**Author's Note: Would you look at that? Another death at Hogwarts :) Poor poor Gilderoy, taking the fall for Dumbledore like that... but oh well, not like I liked him to begin with. Harry's meeting with the solicitor and Weasleys going to court in the near future :)  
And thank you so much for the lovely reviews =)  
**


	18. New Rival and Meeting the Solicitor

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Harry sighed. Apparently he would have to start revealing his heritage much sooner than he wanted to:

"That's because I'm not. My mother was part of the Gaunt family, thus I am related to Salazar Slytherin."

"But your mother was muggleborn!" – exclaimed Pansy – "That's a known fact!"

"Not really." – muttered Harry – "Her family were squibs, not muggles."

He decided that there was no need to tell them the details yet. Thus the six friends spent the night talking about the 'voice' and what sort of serpent it could belong to.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.**

While the children were stuck at Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy was busy thinking about everything his son told him over the holidays. He was 100% sure that this was because of the artifact he gave the youngest Weasley. He obviously never meant for anything like this to happen but somehow it did. Lucius was a Malfoy and thus he knew that telling anyone about his part, no matter how unknowing, in this fiasco was out of the question. One dead mudblood was nothing to cry over, Lucius mused, but then again even if the girl was a mudblood, she was still a child, a magical child. He talked to Severus recently and found out about the second death and how Dumbledore pinned it on Lockhart. This caused his disgust of Dumbledore to skyrocket. Okay, it was initially his fault for trying to discredit Arthur Weasley through his spawn, but it's not like Lucius knew this could happen, or he would never do it. Dumbledore, however, was only occupied with preserving his power. So what if a couple of children died? Lord Malfoy growled helplessly and kicked the table.

* * *

Penelope's death caused the second quidditch match to be postponed and when it was finally held, it was already the end of January. The game was quite intense, but Harry managed to catch the snitch just fine. His Polijuice Potion was also ready. Thus he made his way to Fred and George's room to ask them for help in his plan.

"Well, squirt, what is it?" – asked George, as he watched the slightly fidgeting boy.

"I need you help guys."

"We figured that out already." – snorted Fred, earning himself a slight glare from his older twin.

"So then?" – prompted George with a grin.

"Ehm… I have the meeting with the solicitor on Valentine's Day… in Hogsmead… I have a plan how to get there, but I need you two to help me…"

"Oh?" – asked Fred, staring intently at the boy he considered his brother – "What's the plan?"

"I've made Polijuice… and I need one of you to switch places with me for the day…"

"Very clever…" – said George, feeling proud of the brat he loved as much as his other siblings – "So then you go to Hogsmead as me, or Fred, and one of us stays here and pretends to be you. Brilliant, brat."

"You really think so?" – Harry couldn't quite believe that his plan was so easily accepted – "So then you'll help me?"

"Absolutely. It's like a prank." – agreed Fred – "Just don't warn the others, so I can test how long it takes them to figure it out."

"So you're volunteering?" – enquired George.

"Yep. It's not like I have a date to go with."

Harry let out a happy manly squeal and hugged the twins:

"Thanks, guys, you're the best!"

George ruffled his black hair and chuckled:

"Get going already, you have Potions first thing in the morning."

Harry stuck out his tongue at the reminder and left the room with his nose stuck high in the air doing such a good imitation of Lockhart, that both twins fell down onto the bed, shaking with laughter.

* * *

Ever since Dumbledore framed Lockhart for the events that happened around the school, Minerva was busy finding a replacement DADA professor and while the search went on, every house was taught by their Head of House. These lessons turned out to be much better than those taught by both Lockhart and Quirrel. Harry & co were very glad to finally have proper classes.

Of course not everyone was that happy, for example one Ron Weasley who still hadn't stopped trying to get back in Harry's good graces and thus kept annoying the Potter heir at every chance he had, could often be found in the trophy room washing the trophies by hand as punishment for very poor grades. His sister Ginny on the other hand seemingly disappeared. Outside of classes, no one ever saw the girl, not that anyone really tried very hard, after all she was pretty much as insufferable as her brother.

The vacant place of 'Harry's rival' was soon filled by an obnoxious Hufflepuff called Zacharius Smith. He was a half-blood in their year and he seemed to take it as a personal offence that Harry and Draco became friends. The boy took every chance he got to insult both Malfoy and Potter and by extension each and every friend the two had. By the beginning of February it was beginning to become really bothersome. Harry did his best to simply ignore the twit, but Draco had absolutely no qualms with insulting Smith back and taking every chance he got to curse the idiot. Of course he never did it in front of the professors, so no one punished the Slytherin, since they knew that the Hufflepuff had it in for him. Thus it was assumed that the other boy simply tried to get Draco in trouble. The Weasley twins also helped, they began pranking their friends' rival from time to time. One time they even got the house elves to put some truth serum into the dolt's pumpkin juice. What came afterwards was simply epic. Smith lost so many points that by the time the serum wore off Hufflepuff was permanently out of the run for the Cup.

* * *

"Okay, we're ready?" – asked George as he watched Harry and Fred come out of the room.

"Absolutely." – responded his twin.

"The voice is a bit off, Harry." – chuckled George – "So try not to talk too much until we get to the meeting."

"Okay." – nodded the disguised 'boy-who-lived'.

"And how do I look?" – asked Fred who was masquerading as Harry.

"Pretty much perfect. But like I said take care of the voice, maybe say you caught the flu or something. Or get the other to cover for you."

"Okay, let's go then." – said Harry, squirming in excitement.

The trip to the village was not a long one, but Harry and George were rather nervous, since if someone caught on to what they were planning, they would be in a world of trouble. None the less everything went smoothly and soon Harry was sitting in front of an amused solicitor in a private room at the 'Hog's Head'.

"Well, Mister Potter, I must admit you're a very resourceful person." – smiled the man – "I wasn't sure if you'd make it, so I bow before your cunning. I'm rather surprised you didn't become a Slytherin."

Harry blushed a bit:

"Thank you, sir, it was important that I make it to this meeting, so I did my best not to disappoint."

"So I've heard. I am Valerius Jenks, senior solicitor of 'Jenks & Jenks' and I will do my best to help in whatever it is you need doing."

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Jenks." – Harry shook the man's hand with a smile on his face – "I hope you can indeed help me. And I thank you for not treating me like a kid."

"Well, in my opinion a person who managed to survive the Killing Curse and off the Dark Lord on the way is most certainly not a kid. Now what is it exactly that brought on this meeting."

"I… became aware of certain facts… of a delicate nature… and I need help with getting the evidence and making sure the people responsible do not get away." – said Harry, not sure how much he wanted to reveal to a total stranger without some sort of promise not to tell.

"Ah, I see you're hesitant to trust me." – remarked Jenks – "That's good, if the situation is rather delicate than you shouldn't trust easily. Let's first go over the contract."

"Of course." – agreed Harry and took the offered copy. He read it thoroughly, but there were still a couple of places he wasn't entirely sure about. He pointed them out to Jenks and to his surprise at once got a straight answer.

"This contract is the standard one. It's the base for all the contracts we make. The points in black are those we do not change, but if there is something you're not comfortable with in the rest of it, feel free to tell me and we'll change it to what you want."

"All the blue ones are okay… and the red ones too… however it's this one about 'death upon willingly disclosing confidential information' that I have a problem with. I don't want anyone to die for me, especially because of some information." – said Harry softly.

Valerius pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew his client was just 12, so it was obvious the kid wouldn't really understand the pressure that sometimes came with being a solicitor for a pureblood family and the lengths the enemies of the family would go to in order to ruin the family in question. He wondered how he could explain it:

"Mister Potter. I understand that and it is very admirable of you to care even for practically unknown people, but you're quite young and you don't seem to realize that every serious job has its' risks and when people apply for such a job they are made aware of exactly what will be expected of them."

"But it's wrong!" – exclaimed Harry.

"Is it? Aurors die in the line of duty all the time and no one says it's wrong for them to do so." – snapped the man and Harry looked at the table feeling rather embarrassed.

"I'm sorry sir," – he apologized meekly – "It seems I forgot to do my research properly."

"So then, do you agree to the contract, Mr. Potter?"

"I do." – replied the boy hesitating just a bit.

They signed the contract and it disappeared in a flash of golden sparks.

"Where did it go?" – asked Harry in confusion.

"It is a legally binding contract, so it will be filed accordingly at the Ministry… Now then, care to share this trouble you got yourself in, Mr. Potter?"

Now that Harry knew the man wouldn't betray him, he told Valerius about everything concerning Dumbledore and the Weasleys, making the man stare at the boy in total shock. Whatever trouble he expected Potter to be in, it was certainly not the headmaster stealing from him.

* * *

**Author's Note: And I'll stop here for the moment. What do you know, the longest chapter so far. I hope you guys liked it :)  
While on this note, I'd like to thank tricorvus for the wonderful reviews. They always make me want to update faster.  
**


	19. A Contract & A Snake & a Ghost

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to eacher without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

They signed the contract and it disappeared in a flash of golden sparks.

"Where did it go?" – asked Harry in confusion.

"It is a legally binding contract, so it will be filed accordingly at the Ministry… Now then, care to share this trouble you got yourself in, Mr. Potter?"

Now that Harry knew the man wouldn't betray him, he told Valerius about everything concerning Dumbledore and the Weasleys, making the man stare at the boy in total shock. Whatever trouble he expected Potter to be in, it was certainly not the headmaster stealing from him.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.**

"So as I understand it, you want me to gather the bank statements, list of properties and so on to find out just what exactly Dumbledore embezzled, so we know what we want back." – stated Valerius Jenks.

"Exactly." – smiled Harry.

"I'll do that then." – said the man, as he stood up and gathered the papers littering the table – "Until we meet again, Mr. Potter."

"Absolutely." – beamed Harry as he watched the man go out of the room.

_'Well, that went smoothly… now all that is left is to wait…'_ – thought Harry and followed his new solicitor out of the room and into the village – _'I suppose I should go and find George… speaking of the twins… I hope Fred is doing okay…'_

Harry buttoned up his winter cloak and put on the gloves before stepping out onto the snow covered street. He was walking towards 'Madam Puddyfoot's' coffee shop, when he heard a quiet voice nearby.

**_$Darn it… Why iss it sso cold here?$_** - complained the voice – **_$I wanna be ssomewhere warm and dry…$_**

Harry moved in the direction of the voice, but didn't see anyone.

"Weird…" – he muttered and was about to forget it and go on, when he heard it again.

**_$Down here, you dolt!$_** - this time the voice was louder and did indeed seem to come from the ground.

Harry looked down and jumped back a bit when he saw the large black serpent coiled in the ground.

$Erm… Hello…$ - he said, slipping into Parseltongue **(A/N: I think it's spelled like that, but let me know if I'm wrong)**.

**_$A sspeaker? Here?$_** - the snake was surprised – **_$A happy occurrence… take me away from here! I'm cold!$_**

Harry couldn't figure out what to do. On one hand he couldn't just leave the snake out on the street to freeze to death, on the other hand only a few people knew about him being a Parselmouth, and so bringing the snake into the castle would pose a few difficulties.

**_$Okay, I'll take you with me… but the people in the castle don't know I can speak with sserpentss, sso you'll have to keep out of ssight…$_**

So he picked up the serpentine body and wrapped it around himself, so that the snake wouldn't be seen unless someone ordered Harry to strip.

**_$Oh, good… warm$_** - the snake practically moaned as she coiled around the boy's warm body.

Harry chuckled softly and then brought his attention back to his surroundings. People were walking around in pairs, some girls even shot him quick flirtatious glances that had Harry blush a bit before he remembered that he was disguised as Fred and Fred, even to his 12 year old mind, was a very handsome teenager. So he paid the girls no attention, especially since for one, he himself didn't really know how to communicate with them properly, nor did he really have a desire to, and for two – he was not sure if Fred even liked girls.

* * *

While Harry was dealing with his problems, Fred was having a total blast. He knew once Harry returned he would be subjected to some sort of payback, but in the meantime, Fred was on the loose. The disguised ginger accepted to play chess with Ron and being very familiar with the way his brother liked playing, he absolutely destroyed the boy's strategy. Oh of course he still lost, but he did so in the most ridiculous way ever. He kept making moves Ron wasn't anticipating, thus riling the boy up unfortunately not to the extent that he'd throw the game.

"You know, Ron," – he said when they were finished playing – "I noticed something very strange lately…"

"Oh?" – it was painfully obvious how the younger Weasley instantly paid attention.

"Yeah… I think…" – he paused for dramatic effect – "… that Dumbledore is a pedophile!"

"WHAT?" – screeched Ron as he jumped out of his chair – "You take that back right now!"

"Erm… I don't think I will…" – calmly drawled Fred.

"Harry," – Ron practically pleaded, looking around to make sure there was no one there – "You could get in real trouble for saying stuff like that." – there was a wild look in the boy's eyes, like he was expected to be punished or something.

Fred filed away his brother's weird reaction for further consideration:

"Okay, mate, chill… but you have to admit with how he always says 'my boy' this and 'my boy' that…the man just creeps me out…"

"I… I gotta go…" – mumbled Ron and practically ran out of the common room.

_'Well, that definitely was weird…'_ – thought Fred and returning to planning his newest prank against Dumbles.

* * *

Being a ghost was definitely not fun, decided Hermione Jean Granger as she floated around the school.

_'I suppose the only good thing I got is that now I don't have to be afraid of that old goat manipulating me… or worse'_ – thought the newest ghostly resident of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft & Wizardry – _'Now if only there was a way to get Ron from under that curse the old goat has him under… dirty old pedophile…'_

**%^Miss Granger, please, quit loitering. You were the one to ask me to assist you in learning to interact with the living world, so do not waste my time. Even if I'm already dead and have nothing but spare time, I can still find more productive way to spend it.^%**

**%^I'm sorry, sir.^%** - responded Hermione, as she floated over to where the Bloody Baron, or Richard Gryffindor-Slytherin actually, was waiting for her impatiently - **%^So how do I do it?^%**

**%^It will be a long and rigorous road, young lioness. It will at least take you several years until you can even begin interacting with the living the way us Hogwarts ghosts do.^%** - said the spirit of Salazar & Godric's son.

**%^That long?^%** - gasped Hermione's transparent form - **%^Is there a reason it will take me that long to learn?^%**

**%^Indeed there is.^%** - sighed the ancient ghost - **%^You are quite a rare case. Children as young as you don't usually become ghosts, they always move one. You and Myrtle are exceptions due to the way you died. It took her around three years to learn and she was in her fifth year of school, her magical core was more mature and stable…^%**

**%^So then I'll be invisible until I've accumulated enough energy to make my magical core stable?^%** - she asked, still confused.

**%^No, you're dead. You no longer have a magical core. You need to accumulate energy, that is correct. But what you need to strengthen is your very soul. Since technically that's exactly what you are – a soul without a body… like the rest of us.^%** - patiently said the Baron. Usually he did not like dealing with new spirits, Myrtle was a watery nuisance and Peeves… well that was an entirely different thing. Still, he found himself somewhat fond of the muggleborn witch - **%^There is however another reason for it taking so long. And that reason is your very blood.^%**

**%^Oh, no^%** - exclaimed Hermione making a face - **%^More of that pureblood crap?^%**

**%^It's not crap child!^%** - said the ghost, his voice icy - **%^You should not speak of what you do not understand…^%**

And thus the ghost of the Slytherin House proceeded to enlighten the ghost by the name of Hermione Granger about the things no one ever mentioned while the girl was alive. That thing being the all-important question: 'Just how valuable is a wizard's ancestry?'

* * *

In the headmaster office Albus Dumbledore was not having the best day… or the best week… or even the best month. Usually when he felt like this, he would relieve the tension the usual way, especially since he had two… no, now it was one semi-willing pawn to take. But ever since the Granger girl died he has been under the scrutiny of the Governors. Of course he framed Lockhart for the deeds, but no one really believed him. He was still out of job and with no defense professor. It couldn't have been worse. Even the Potter boy spent more and more time with that useless squib Longbottom and Malfoy's spawn of all people. The Weasley twins were acceptable, they were Weasleys after all, even if not the Weasleys Dumbledore would prefer. For a moment he contemplated ordering Ronald to visit him in his office, from where he could take the boy to his private chambers and vent his frustrations. But of course with the bad luck he's been having recently, it wouldn't be impossible for someone notice something wrong with the boy, or even catch them in the act… No… that was not acceptable… especially since then he would lose Molly's support and that could only mean a disaster for him, since the woman knew a lot of his secrets.

_'I suppose it's time Mr. Potter and I have a chat…'_ – he decided – _'It really is a shame he is too important to satisfy some of my baser needs… he is such a handsome boy after all… I think a trip to Knockturn Alley is in order after all…' – _with that old man used a portkey and disappeared from his office.

The Hat, sitting on the shelf, and the phoenix exchanged a glance. The old man was getting more and more crazy with practically every day. Something had to be done and they knew just the person to go to. Now all they needed was a plan.

The portraits were likewise disgusted with their headmaster. Phineas Black rolled his eyes:

"Someone really needs to take that loon down." – said the man from inside his frame.

"Yes, well…" – drawled the Hat – "I have my money on young Potter, but he is a bit young right now I thing… give it time…"

"Time?" – snorted Black – "And in that time how many other people he'll use do you think?.. If you think the boy's our best bet, then at least tell him about the old coot's depravities. Make sure he's prepared."

"I suppose you're right… but how do we tell him? I'm a Hat…Fawkes a phoenix… you're a portrait…"

"Exactly. Who says I need to stay in this frame all the time? I'll talk to the kid…"

That decided, the one-time headmaster of Hogwarts made his track through other paintings, carefully choosing only the landscapes just to be on the safe side, to the Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yeah, I know Dumbledore as a pedophile is really not as original and I did see it in other stories, however the way he calls people 'my boy' or 'my girl' just screams pedophile to me... the man is over 150 years old ... urgh.. it's really a disgusting mental image. And a ghost Hermione, who would have seen that coming? =) Anyway, let me know what you think about it.  
**


	20. Ron Issues

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to eacher without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

"Time?" – snorted Black – "And in that time how many other people he'll use do you think?.. If you think the boy's our best bet, then at least tell him about the old coot's depravities. Make sure he's prepared."

"I suppose you're right… but how do we tell him? I'm a Hat…Fawkes a phoenix… you're a portrait…"

"Exactly. Who says I need to stay in this frame all the time? I'll talk to the kid…"

That decided, the one-time headmaster of Hogwarts made his track through other paintings, carefully choosing only the landscapes just to be on the safe side, to the Gryffindor Tower.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER NINETEEN.**

When Harry returned to the dorms, he was encountered by something rather strange. Ron Weasley was in the common room, sitting in an armchair, looking around at every sound. Harry found it odd, but brushed it aside as a probable result of something Fred did. He made his way to his way to his room and found Neville waiting for him along with the twins.

"Where the heck have you been, Harry? You should have come back half an hour ago!" – snapped George at once.

Harry cringed and looked at the floor:

"Well see, I found this snake in the village… and it was freezing… so I… sortoftookitwithme…" – he said, the last part coming out in a rush.

"Oh?" – muttered George, instantly deflating – "Sorry for the outburst, kid, it's just that we've been worried…"

"It's okay…" – mumbled Harry and took off his outer cloak – "Anyway… this is the snake."

"Is it like a she-snake, or a he-snake? What's it called? Is it poisonous?" – Neville asked excitedly, earning himself a weird look from the other three boys.

"Since when did you like snakes?" – snorted Fred.

"W-well… it's not like I like them… but I've always been fascinated by them. Of course I'm not a Parselmouth like Harry here, so I didn't dare get one for myself, so instead Gran gave me Trevor… but still… it's a chance to get to know a snake, especially since Harry can talk to it and translate if I ask some questions." – the second year Gryffindor was grinning like a loon.

While the wins made fun of Neville, Harry realized that actually he knew close to nothing about his new companion.

**_$Sso what's your name? What were you doing out in the cold?$_** - he asked.

**_$My ssire called me Emryss… I wass abandoned by my missstresss…$_** - said the snake sullenly - **_$I didn't wissh to bond withs her, sso sshe dumped me.$_**

**_$Bond like a familiar bond?$_** - asked Harry.

**_$Yess. I am after all a magical ssnake. Thuss I'm able to bond withs a Master who iss compatible withs me.$_** - explained the snake.

**_$So how old are you, Emryss?$_**

**_$Closse to twenty years as you two-leggerss count it… I had a different master before the nassty old two-legged female gave me to the sshop, where I was eventually bought by the girl's ssire…$_**

"So, what did it say?" – asked Neville when Harry finished talking with the snake.

Harry shrugged a little and quickly retold the boys what he heard from Emrys. Neville was about to ask some more questions, when they were interrupted by a man who strode into the landscape painting that hang in the room.

"Hello, children." – he said in a voice that reminded Harry of Lucius Malfoy's aristocratic drawl.

"Hello, sir." – the Potter heir said carefully, Neville and the twins echoing his statement.

"I am Phineas Nigellus Black, one of the previous headmasters of Hogwarts. I seek young Harry Potter."

'Black' – echoed in Harry's mind. The man in the painting was his relative, his real relative, never mind that he was dead.

"That's me." – Harry said as he took a small step forward.

"Good. I found the right room." – he then glanced at the rest of the boys – "And these are?"

"Neville Frank Longbottom, headmaster Black, sir." – replied Neville.

"George Fabian Weasley, sir."

"Fred Gideon Weasley, sir." – for once the twins spoke normally.

"Weasleys?" – repeated the man, paling a bit – "Any relation to a Ronald Weasley."

"Yes, he's our younger brother." – replied George – "however unlike him we do not come running at the headmaster's first call."

The former headmaster of Hogwarts sighed sadly:

"Do not be so quick to judge, young ones. There is much you do not understand in the situation."

Harry frowned at his ancestor:

"What do you mean? He, his mother and his youngest sister are spying on me for Dumbledore, they also get money from my vault for doing so!" – Potter looked at the man angrily, feeling a bit betrayed, while the rest of the boys were just plain confused.

"Calm down, Harry Potter, I will explain things to the best of my abilities in a moment." – drawled Phineas, mentally cursing himself for forgetting about the natural hot temper of most of the people who make it into Gryffindor. When he was sure the boy wouldn't blow up anything, he proceeded to tell the children what Fawkes, he and the Hat have overheard that day and so much more than just that. By the end of it Harry felt sick to the stomach, Neville lost his supper and Emrys had to coil around George, while Harry and Neville restrained Fred, so that the twins wouldn't do anything stupid.

"… There you have it." – Phineas stopped talking. Were he still alive, his throat would probably be very dry by now, but thankfully he was just a preserved impression infused with the spirit of the real Phineas Black.

* * *

Hermione, or rather her ghost, sighed with relief as she overheard the talk that went on in Harry's room.

_'Thank Merlin, now I don't have to hurry as much as I thought I'd have to…'_ – thought the spirit, as she went off to look for the other ghost, hoping that everything would turn out just fine. She was drifting along the second floor corridor, when she heard a thump coming from a classroom nearby. She floated that way and was in time to see professors McGonagall and Sprout levitate another victim of the monster to the Hospital Wing. Thankfully, though, this time the student was petrified, not dead.

_'I really hope someone takes care of that snake somehow…'_ – wished the bushy haired ghost.

* * *

All the way in London, in the Ministry of Magic, people were panicking. Something happened that no one ever expected to – Dark Lord Grindewald escaped from his cell in Numengard. Or more accurately – he just vanished from the cell, since everyone was saying that the wards were too strong for him to apparate.

Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was most certainly both angry and scared. He had no idea what to do. He wanted to ask Dumbledore for help, but he was very aware that the man wouldn't help for free. Thus he decided to keep the matter silent. He made everyone swear a silence vow to not say a thing about the break out until the former Dark Lord made his presence known. Not his wisest decision, but then again he was never the brightest person.

* * *

It was the end of March and Harry & co still had no concrete plan of action. All they knew for sure was that Dumbledore had to go down. Ever since they found out about Ron, they made an effort to be friendlier. Of course the boy was still under the **Imperius**, so they couldn't trust him until the curse was lifted and they were sure that Ron was 100% coerced into what he'd been doing.

"I say we talk to my father." – said Draco one evening.

"…" – was the reaction he got, as his friends stared at him in total shock.

Finally Pansy said:

"Well… that would be a good idea in the way that he's an adult. And a powerful one at that. Should he learn of what Dumbledore did to Ronald and Merlin knows how many other boys… he wouldn't rest until he got the man behind bars, or even better – dead."

Harry hummed, as he thought about the idea:

"That does sound appealing…" – he looked from one person to another – "Let's meet him. Let's meet him, make him swear a silence vow or something and tell him everything. Then we'll either gain a very powerful ally, or at least someone would know."

George was not as easy to persuade:

"Are you sure he'll help us? We're Weasleys after all, blood traitors…"

Draco blushed slightly:

"I'm sure the importance of the situation will make him overlook things like that…"

Fred elbowed his twin with a grin:

"Come on, you gotta admit it is a good idea. I mean going against Dumbledore has to be with someone who doesn't support him. That rules out pretty much all of the adults you and I know."

Neville bit his lip and petted Emrys, who was coiled between Harry and Neville:

"I agree. My Gran does have some pull, but she's a supporter of the Light and Dumbledore is the Leader of the Light. Thus we'll automatically have to look for supporters among the Dark families. And you have to admit the Malfoys are an old pureblood family, only second to the Blacks. We won't find anyone better."

Draco grinned:

"Okay then. I'll write father and we'll arrange the meeting, but it will have to be in the summer, so the old man doesn't find out."

Harry nodded and then changed the topic:

"Now that that's settled, how about we review for the test next week?"

Pansy rolled her eyes:

"You, Draco and Neville are on the top of our grade. Why would you possibly need to review?"

Draco chuckled:

"So that we can be even better, of course."

And thus they stayed at the library until it was almost curfew, getting ready for one of Snape's infamous tests.

* * *

During spring the headmaster was often absent from the school, which gave Minerva and the others some space to make some improvements, though it also made several individuals curious… not that they could actually do anything about it…

Severus also enjoyed the peace and quiet that was the result of the absent headmaster. It was on one of those days when he was free from brewing that he heard a knock on his office. He was quite surprised to see Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom and the Weasley twins at his doorstep. The twins were also levitating their younger brother, who was unconscious.

"Well, well… what an interesting sight… Snakes and lions together…" – the man drawled – "What is it that I can help you gentlemen with?"

Draco was the one to speak:

"Uncle Sev, this is really important and quite dangerous…" – he spoke, ignoring how his friends gave him an incredulous glance and how his godfather glared at him for using the shortened form of his name – "The problem we have is very delicate and so we require a vow of silence before we tell you anything…"

The man sputtered at the boldness displayed by his godson. The Draco he knew never would behave like this, it seemed that hanging out with lions curbed the boys ego and way of thinking that everything will be given to him just because he's a Malfoy:

"A vow of silence you say?" – he growled softly – "That's a significant thing you ask for, child…" – Severus fell silent, debating with himself on the course of actions.

* * *

**Author's Note: And there you have it =) Another chappie, second in a day. I hope you people like how I've turned around the story. Since I heard about the plans to take down stories with explicit violence or sexual content, I decided to not write anything other than vague allusions about that sort of stuff just to be on the safe side of things. But you people have imagination, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks for yourselves =)  
**


	21. Ron Issues part II

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to eacher without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

Draco was the one to speak:

"Uncle Sev, this is really important and quite dangerous…" – he spoke, ignoring how his friends gave him an incredulous glance and how his godfather glared at him for using the shortened form of his name – "The problem we have is very delicate and so we require a vow of silence before we tell you anything…"

The man sputtered at the boldness displayed by his godson. The Draco he knew never would behave like this, it seemed that hanging out with lions curbed the boys ego and way of thinking that everything will be given to him just because he's a Malfoy:

"A vow of silence you say?" – he growled softly – "That's a significant thing you ask for, child…" – Severus fell silent, debating with himself on the course of actions.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY.**

The five boys sat on the sofa in Snape's private quarters, waiting patiently… or at least projecting the picture of patience. Fred and George were fidgeting slightly, throwing glances at the room Snape Ron to. Harry on the other hand reflected on the conversation they had with the Potions Master.

**/Flashback, a few hours ago/**

"I, Severus Octavius Snape, hereby swear to not divulge the information given to me by Harry James Potter, Draco Lucius Malfoy, Fred Gideon Weasley, George Fabian Weasley and Neville Frank Longbottom without their personal agreement. So mote it be." – calmly said Severus, as green and purple sparks erupted from his wand. The potions master then turned to the children in front of him and raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting.

Harry cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of Snape's eyes.

"It's sort of a long story. I'm not really sure where to begin. Anyway, it has to do with Dumbledore. The portrait of Phineas Black informed us that the headmaster has Ron here under the Imperius curse, so that he would have someone to spy on me… among other things. We came here to ask you if you can help us lift the curse from Ronald and see what his part in Dumbledore's plans is…"

"I take it that is the short version?" – asked Snape.

"Yeah…" – muttered Harry – "I will be happy to tell you the whole story…once this matter is resolved, if you do not mind…"

"Fine…" – Severus snorted and took over the levitation charm on Ron's body – "Settle down on the couch… It's going to take a long time."

**/end of flashback/**

"You think he's going to be okay?" – asked Fred nervously.

"He better be…" – muttered George, hugging his twin.

Harry and Draco occupied themselves with books from Snape's bookcase, while Neville was having a nap, his head resting on Fred's shoulder with Emrys coiled on his lap.

* * *

Breaking an Imperius curse was always a difficult task, and since it was cast by Dumbledore, it was doubly difficult. But Severus Snape was not a master Legillimens for nothing. He repaired the boy's fractured mind with a diligence he never thought he'd show towards a Gryffindor. But besides being a lion, Ronald Weasley was first of all a child… a child that has been badly abused… and not just by the headmaster.

Severus had a strong desire to retch, but he kept working. He knew that as soon as the boy was awake, he'd have to be taken to St. Mungo's and that was a problem, since he wouldn't be safe from Dumbledore there. Not as long as the boy's mother was willingly supporting the fucking pedophile.

"And they say Aberforth is horrid…" – muttered Snape, as he finally extracted himself from the boy's mind and gave the child a sleeping potion so that he could talk to the kids who were waiting outside the room and to Poppy, who had to be apprised of the situation… – "that one just fucks goats… but Albus is at least 10 times worse!"

Against his better judgement he retrieved the Pensieve that Lily gave him for his 17th birthday and put all the memories he viewed in Ron's mind into it. With the artefact in his hands, he walked into his sitting room, leaving Ron sleeping on the cot.

"Professor Snape!" – exclaimed Fred.

"How is he?" – asked George.

The Head of Slytherin gazed at the young wizards sitting around his room and sighed:

"I've placed the memories that I've encountered in his mind into the Pensieve. Feel free to watch them. You'll find all your answers there. However I warn you, I'll only allow Mr. & Mr. Wealsey to view them, since the three of you are just too young to see that sort of depravities. I will also make copies of the memories and show them to Molly and Arthur as soon as I can manage to meet them without Dumbledore finding out."

It was obvious that the younger boys were a bit frustrated at being denied access to the memories, but they remained silent as Fred and George delved into the Pensieve.

"What exactly is a Pensieve, Professor?" – asked Harry, as the silence was grating in his nerves.

"It's a device that allows a person or a group of people to view someone else's memories." – explained Severus, as he sat down in an armchair – "One can extract the memories with one's wand by thinking hard about the things he wants to share with others. Now, children, I have to contact Madam Pomfrey and get Ronald transferred to St. Mungo's. I trust you not to demolish the room while I'm gone."

With that the dark haired wizard threw a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace and with a shout of "Hogwarts, Hospital Wing" disappeared in a flash of green flames.

Harry glanced at Draco:

"Do you think I can just show him the memories instead of telling it all over again?"

The blond blinked for a moment and then caught up to Harry's train of thought:

"Absolutely. That would be much more efficient and would take less time… I think…"

Neville sighed:

"I just hate how complicated this whole mess is. I mean all this crap and then whatever is terrorizing the school… talk about poor timing…"

"Yeah…" – muttered Harry and then sat up straighter as the twins were spat out of the Pensieve. Both of them were positively green.

"Guys?" – Neville called tentatively – "You okay?"

Fred shook his head and practically collapsed onto the sofa between Draco and Neville, while George sat himself between Harry and Neville.

"I… it… just… it was disgusting…" – mumbled George brokenly – "How come we didn't realize? What sort of brothers are we? This crap has been going on for 3 years already…" – the more he spoke, the angrier he became – "That old fucker has been raping our brother for three years and obliviating him after each time. And then Ron went to Hogwarts… and the bastard put him under Imperius. From that point on he simply had to say the word and Ron would do anything…"

At that point Fred shot up from his place and went to the bathroom, the door to which was open thankfully and he didn't need to search for it, and promptly threw up.

* * *

When Snape returned with Poppy Pomfrey in tow, he saw a ranting George Weasley and three very green boys. He was about to ask about the other red head, but the retching sounds coming from the bathroom made that question unnecessary.

"Is it really that bad, Severus?" – asked the mediwitch softly, looking at the reactions the boys had to the news Severus found in Ronald's mind.

"That bad and even worse, I kept the more… disturbing memories out of there. They saw enough, but I did not think it wise to let them watch an 150 year old pervert rape their brother over and over again… With how they're reacting, I wonder if maybe I've shown them more than was necessary as it is."

"Professor, Madam Pomfrey, you're here!" – exclaimed Harry softly, his skin tinged green – "Do you maybe have anything anti-nauseous? I feel a bit sick…"

"Yeah, me too…" – spoke Draco and Neville.

"Oh, you poor children…" – she glanced at the Potions Master – "Severus, be a dear, get them some potions, will you? And for Misters Weasley too."

"Yes, yes…" – muttered the man as he went to the room he left Ronald to get a few vials for the boys.

Poppy followed him and while Severus returned to the boys, she cast several diagnostic charms on Ron's sleeping form, cursing under her breath at the results she got.

"I really wish we could castrate that old goat somehow…" – mumbled the mediwitch under her breath.

Out in the sitting room Severus Snape conversed quietly with the twins, who by now recovered enough to be rational, and the three second years.

"Mr. Potter, I believe a longer story is in order at this point…"

Harry sighed and glanced at his professor:

"Could I maybe show it in the Pensieve? I'm really tired of telling these things over and over again. Especially since lately it has become clear that what we thought was going on, was actually just the tip of the real problem."

Severus saw how tired the boy was and quickly agreed. Even though this was the son of his worst enemy from school, he's learnt to see past that and gradually he came to view Harry as Lily's child, conveniently forgetting that he was a Potter spawn as well. However now that he looked at the tired child who sat on his couch, he could no longer deny it. It didn't matter who the boy's parents were, he clearly was a separate person. He carefully explained how a memory could be taken out and was quite proud to see that Harry understood it on the first try.

While Snape viewed the memories Harry extracted, Fred and George went to the other room to maybe have a word with Poppy. When they came in, she was sitting in a chair, looking very sad. The twins knew that losing trust in someone had to hurt, so they refrained from demanding answers like they felt they were entitled to and instead began very carefully. George was the one to speak:

"Madam Pomfrey?" – he called out tentatively – "Could you spare us a few moments?"

"Oh, boys…" – she said sadly – "It's you…"

"What can you tell us about his condition?" – asked Fred bluntly.

"Right… right…" – the mediwitch seemed to pull herself together – "Since Severus showed you the memories he recovered from his mind, you'll probably understand at least part of the damage done to him. I'm afraid there is a chance he won't be able to have children, should he ever make a complete mental recovery that is…"

"You mean he's… crazy?" – asked Fred confusedly, only to get an elbow in the ribs from George.

Poppy shook her head:

"No, crazy is not the word for it, boys." – she sighed – "However he's been through a lot and will need professional help… and a lot of it."

George swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat:

"You mean he'll have to be admitted to St. Mungo's."

"Yes." – nodded the mediwitch – "That however is not all that has to be done, but Severus will tell you about that, I will prepare your brother's medical files for the transfer. Also, do you want to inform your parents yourselves, or should I call them?"

The twins shared a look and George shook his head:

"No, we'll talk to our father ourselves. Thank you for the offer though."

"Okay then, off you go." – she then shooed the twins out of the room and returned to tending their brother.

* * *

**Author's Note: And we'll stop here for now. Talking to the Weasley parents coming up...and probably some more Hermione. I'm also thinking about one thing - should I or should I not let Dumbles know that his old lover escaped from his prison?.. Well, don't know yet =)  
**

**Poll: Should Molly change her ways?  
1) **Yes, after all who on Earth would forgive someone who raped their child;**  
2) **Nah, she loves money & Dumbles more than anything else, even her family;**  
3) **Yes, but only after she gets punished for stealing from Harry and returns everything she stole;**  
4) **Some other option (if so, feel free to let me know);**  
**


	22. Into The Chamber

**Author's Note: I do apologize for the wait, I had my Chinese exams to take care of. I hope you'll forgive me =)  
**

**on that note, while I still remember, I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

"No, crazy is not the word for it, boys." – she sighed – "However he's been through a lot and will need professional help… and a lot of it."

George swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat:

"You mean he'll have to be admitted to St. Mungo's."

"Yes." – nodded the mediwitch – "That however is not all that has to be done, but Severus will tell you about that, I will prepare your brother's medical files for the transfer. Also, do you want to inform your parents yourselves, or should I call them?"

The twins shared a look and George shook his head:

"No, we'll talk to our father ourselves. Thank you for the offer though."

"Okay then, off you go." – she then shooed the twins out of the room and returned to tending their brother.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.**

Unfortunately for Harry & co, Dumbledore returned to the castle that very day and stayed at the castle up to the middle of May, thus they could not contact Arthur. All this time Poppy cared for Ronald in a private ward at the Hospital Wing, but it was becoming very clear that the boy had to be transferred to the hospital in the near future.

Harry, Neville and the twins were returning from their private Occlumency session with Snape when they heard voices coming from the second floor corridor. They crept forward and saw the three heads of houses minus Snape gathered in front of a wall that had writings on it. They were too far away to read them, but they didn't have to, instead they listened to the conversation between their professors.

"Her skeleton will lay in the Chamber forever!" – said Pomona Sprout, putting a hand over her mouth – "It's horrible."

"Do we know who was taken?" – asked Flitwick.

"It seems that it was Miss Weasley." – replied Minerva with a small sob – "There has to be something we can do to find her!"

The twins stiffened at that. Harry and Neville shared a concerned glance. As much as the youngest Weasley irritated them, they did not want to see her dead. Suddenly they saw a very peculiar thing – letters were appearing on the wall – by themselves. Neville freaked, while Harry was curious. He leant closer and read out:

"Myrtle's bathroom… Basilisk… it seems to me someone hints at where the chamber is…"

"B-but… it wrote itself…" – stuttered Neville. No matter how much of a pureblood heir he was, some things spooked even him.

"Does it matter?" – hissed Fred – "If this is an accurate tip, then we can save our sister's life!"

Harry grasped the ginger's hand and squeezed it:

"Fred, listen to me. We will do our best, but we need help. Adult help."

George stiffened:

"Do we actually know who we can trust except Madam Pomfrey and Snape?"

Harry bit his lip:

"Well… no… damn it! Let's do this!"

* * *

And so they waited until the professors went away and crept towards the Myrtle's bathroom. They met Draco and Pansy around the corner and of course the two Slytherins came along. Thus Neville got saddled with the job of telling Snape where they went after waiting for them for an hour, while the other four kids did the most Gryffindor thing they could think of – they went to the Chamber of Secrets.

The fact that the entrance was located in a girls' bathroom of all things made the team snicker, which was a good thing, because the seriousness of the situation really called for at least a small stress relief.

They stood around the huge opening and peered into the total darkness:

"Er…" – Draco cleared his throat – "Do we actually have to jump down there? We could break our necks… who knows how deep this thing is…"

Harry frowned, that was a very good point. He also doubted that Salazar Slytherin did not think about this, so he decided to try just in case:

**_$Sstairss!$_** - he called out in Parseltongue, and watched as true to his command a spiral staircase formed.

"Well, this makes things easier…" – he grinned – "Though I think jumping would have been faster."

With a muttered 'Lumos' to light their wands, the friends made their way downstairs.

As they walked, Harry and the twins were feeling really anxious, while Pansy and Draco were more excited about being here in the first place.

As the children reached the bottom of the stairs, the nervousness set in. The idea of a huge snake that could kill with a glance was not something they could be calm about.

"Okay… at least there only seems to be one tunnel…" – said George, trying to make his twin and the youngsters feel calmer. He was already beginning to regret asking Harry to do something so dangerous for them.

"There is that." – chuckled Harry, but his voice shook slightly. However on the inside he had to admit that there was a small part of his mind that was curious. He fingered the invisible signet ring on his hand and wondered.

_'Will my being the heir of Slytherin change anything? Will the monster obey?_' – these questions fluttered around his anxious mind like butterflies. He hoped they could avoid a fight, but he feared that once again his so-called 'luck' would kick him where it hurt most. Finally Harry & co found themselves in front of a huge circle shaped door with ornate snakes all over it and no handle in sight.

"How are we supposed to open that?" – whispered Pansy, looking first at the twins and then at Harry and Draco, to see if one of them knew the answer.

Harry shrugged:

"Probably the same way we did it so far." – with that he faced the door and hissed at it:

**_$Open.$_**

They watched in awe, all thoughts of the snake and the missing Ginny forgotten, as the snakes shifted and the door swung open to reveal the legendary Chamber of Secrets.

"Wow…" – came the same entranced response from all five children, as they looked at the chamber that was revealed. They went to go in, but for some reason only Harry was actually able to enter the Chamber itself, the others seemed to be stuck.

"Guys what's up?" – asked Harry incredulously.

"Ehm… I think there are some wards around the chamber…" – said Draco – "It seems we can't get in…"

Beside the blond the two older boys cursed. Harry didn't like the idea either:

"You're telling me I'm on my own?" – he practically whined – "Just great! Fate – 3, Harry – 0… just my luck…"

George hit the invisible wall with a fist:

"Darn it! This is all my fault! If only I didn't ask you to do this…"

Harry shook his head:

"No, George, don't think like that. You and Fred are like brothers to me, of course I'll do my best to save Ginny."

"Just don't die…" – said Fred quietly, watching the brunette walk into the depth of the Chamber of Secrets.

* * *

Harry walked into the Chamber alone, as he went, he couldn't help but feel a bit of awe about actually being in here. Finally he saw the body of the small redhead, lying in front of the enormous statue of his ancestor. He noticed that she was very pale and was clutching a small notebook to her chest. Harry walked up to the girl and knelt beside her. He was of course nervous, but he knew he had to keep a level head, he cast the diagnostic charm madam Pomfrey usually on him when he got hurt. Harry wasn't sure it would work, but it was the only charm he knew of that he could try. He waved his wand, hoping he got the movement correctly and said the spell:

**"Circumspectus**** Morbi!**[1]**"**

_'I really hope this works…'_ – he thought, waiting for the pale light that he associated with the spell – _'So according to this… she's drained… something's living off her magic… but she can't be pregnant, she's freaking 11!' – his thinking process combusted from the very idea. Sure he found himself checking out random girls and even boys, heck he even thought Fred and George were hot, but that was just thinking, not actually doing anything – 'Okay, Potter, cool down… she doesn't look pregnant, it has to be something else… not that she could actually become pregnant at 11 come to think of it… or maybe it's different for magical people? No matter… something is draining her… but what?'_

"Hello, Harry Potter." – came an unexpected voice from behind Harry.

The boy whirled around and fired a stunner at the intruder. To his shock it went through the young man in Slytherin robes.

"Who are you?" – Harry asked, his wand still trained at the intruder – "How did you get here?"

"Why, the same way you did, I imagine…" – the young man chuckled – "Though I am surprised the barrier let you through. I had to fight my way inside, unfortunately."

Harry narrowed his eyes. Something about the person in front of him was seriously not right, but at the same time he felt very familiar.

"Who are you?" – he repeated, narrowing his green eyes.

The young man smirked silently:

"You don't know? So you rushed in here to save the girl with no idea what was waiting here for you, Harry?"

Harry gulped, slightly scared:

"I know there is a basilisk here if that's what you mean…" – he paused and looked up at the strange Slytherin he's never seen before and noticed that the teen was in fact black and white with lots of greys, like an old muggle photo – "You're him, aren't you? You're the reason these attacks have been happening!"

"Ah, so you're slightly intelligent, Harry Potter… But tell me…" – here the weird person walked up to stand just in front of Harry, his eyes lit up with curiousity – "… how is it that a small infant was able to not only survive the Killing Curse, but also destroy the Dark Lord Voldemort?"

Harry bristled at the mention of Voldemort. He had no idea why, but he felt like the Slytherin was stalling him for some reason and then it hit him – the person in front of him, who didn't exactly look like a normal person was supposed to, was the most likely candidate for draining Ginny's magic:

"What did you do to Ginny?" – he asked, ignoring the question that was asked of him.

"Did no one ever tell it's impolite to answer questions with other questions?" – the person… ghost… whatever asked, though it was obvious that it was a rhetorical question – "How about this, you tell me what I want to know and in return I'll tell you what you want to know…"

Harry gulped. Agreeing was a dangerous thing to do, he knew that, however angering the person who was responsible for the attacks and thus could somehow control the basilisk was definitely worse. The boy took a deep breath and said firmly:

"I agree. But only if we ask questions in turns. And obviously I want some insurance that your answers will be truthful."

The Slytherin smirked:

"That sounds nice. Since you did ask first, I will give you my name. I am Tom Marvolo Riddle. And while I am ready to give you a vow that I will answer your questions truthfully, I will require a similar vow from you."

Harry grimaced at the obvious delay, but his self-preservation did not allow him to aggravate the person in front of him:

"That does sound fair. However… I know you are draining Ginny's magic and I want you to stop it. I do not want her to die."

The young man, now known as Tom Riddle, frowned at Harry, obviously displeased by the request:

"That is not something I can easily stop…" – he said slowly – "My very existence depends on the magic I draw from her… Were I to stop doing so, I would disappear… and I can't allow that, Harry…" – here the young man gave the boy a dangerous smirk.

"Oh… that is a problem…" – muttered Harry. He of course did not really care for either one of them, but he knew the twins would be very hurt by Ginny dying. On the other hand he didn't really know how to force Riddle, whoever he actually was, to stop draining Ginny. Thus he knew that he had to reach some sort of agreement with the man. Now if only things would go his way for once, that would be nice…

* * *

**1)** From Latin: seek out illness.

**Author's Note: Okay, people, this is it for now. Just so you know it's been decided by my Highness that indeed Harry shall get a creature inheritance, though you'll have to wait and see what it will be and how it will affect him.**


	23. Potter, Riddle & The Snake

**DISCLAIMER: I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

The young man, now known as Tom Riddle, frowned at Harry, obviously displeased by the request:

"That is not something I can easily stop…" – he said slowly – "My very existence depends on the magic I draw from her… Were I to stop doing so, I would disappear… and I can't allow that, Harry…" – here the young man gave the boy a dangerous smirk.

"Oh… that is a problem…" – muttered Harry. He of course did not really care for either one of them, but he knew the twins would be very hurt by Ginny dying. On the other hand he didn't really know how to force Riddle, whoever he actually was, to stop draining Ginny. Thus he knew that he had to reach some sort of agreement with the man. Now if only things would go his way for once, that would be nice…

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.**

Once Harry managed to persuade Riddle to stop draining Ginny for the duration of their conversation, the two wizards gave their truth vows and the questions began. Recalling the question Riddle asked before, he decided to follow the other 'person's' example and answer it, so that it would be out of the way:

"You asked how I managed to defeat Lord Voldemort…" – he began speaking and the black and white Slytherin's attention was on him at once – "… I have no idea. Dumbledore seems to think it's because my mother sacrificed herself for me… but I'm pretty sure that was not the only case of Him killing some kid's parents. While mother's sacrifice seems to be a part of the reason, my friends and I think there was some sort of blood magic or ritual thing involved. Because I was an infant at the time, barely a year and a half old, how the hell the people thought I was the reason for Lord Voldemort's disappearance is truly beyond me… Now my question is what are you? You're clearly not a regular Slytherin and since you're practically black and white, don't bother with the 'I'm a human' part…"

He could see Riddle getting annoyed, like he actually expected to get a clear answer and smirked, just because people expected him to know how Voldemort was vanquished did not mean he actually had any idea, and that, the boy realized would have to be changed at some point.

Tom Riddle for his part was certainly annoyed. He was already regretting not summoning the basilisk as soon as he saw the young Gryffindor come in, but since unlike himself the boy somehow managed to come in without having to bash his way through the protective wards, Riddle was a bit wary. He did not want to lose control of Salazar's familiar and if the boy was also somehow related to the man that was a possibility he did not want to take unless absolutely necessary. With a long sigh he began answering the brat's question:

"As you've correctly noticed, I'm not exactly your regular person, indeed I am in fact more a memory, than an actual person at this moment. I'm a Horcrux, a piece of the soul of the original Tom Riddle. I was dormant inside the diary, until the girl began writing in me, pouring her soul and magic into me, thus making me stronger. So it was only a matter of time before I managed to possess her. My turn, why do you wish to save the girl?"

Harry snorted, of all the things to ask, that was probably the one he did not expect:

"I am very good friends with her brothers and I do not wish for them to know the grief of a sibling dying, not if I can help it. My question: why are you so interested in Voldemort?" Harry didn't really understand what a Horcrux was, aside from the obvious, but he knew there was a reason for Riddle to want to know how he 'vanquished' the Dark Lord and he wanted to know what that reason was.

Riddle rolled his eyes, the boy certainly knew how to ask questions and once more he answered thanks to the vow he took:

"Voldemort is my past, my present and my future. There is no one I'm more interested in."

Harry frowned, that was rather vague. However now he had at least an idea of what was happening to Ginny and a rather solid theory about what he could try to save the girl. He slowly inched towards the girl's still form and the diary she held against her chest. Unfortunately for Harry, though, he was not as stealthy as he wanted to be very soon he found himself being chased around by the enormous snake that was the basilisk. He did not really want to fight it, but thus he climbed up the statue of Slytherin and watched in awed horror, as the serpent rose as well. The two of them were distracted by the arrival of Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, who brought Harry the Sorting Hat, which would have been funny, if not for the fact that a hat was without a doubt not something he could use against a basilisk. Since he now had at least a bit of a distance, though it was shortening by the minute, between himself and the snake, Harry decided to try and talk with it, since he was after all an acknowledged Heir of Slytherin:

**_$Sstop!$_** - he said loudly in Parseltongue, actually making the snake slow down a bit – **_$Pleasse don't hurt me!$_**

**_$You… you sspeak?$_** - the snake was quite confused - **_$I was not aware there wass another sspeaker… You ssmell of masster…$_**_ - _the basilisk finally was calm or confused enough to catch his scent, which only made it even more confused.

Riddle was trying to get the creature under control, but without a wand and so close to another speaker, the beast was not cooperating, which sent the Horcrux into a helpless rage.

**_$Do you have to obey him?$_** - asked Harry, knowing the snake would most likely understand who he meant.

**_$I had to… before…$_** - hissed the serpent king, as it considered the child in front of him - **_$... I have to be bound to a descendant of Ssalazar, if I wish to remain alive and healthy… thuss he wass my only choice until you came, young sspeaker…$_**

Harry gaped at the serpent, it sounded like it wanted to bond with him. He had no idea how he would be able to take care of it, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was a much better option than trying to fight his ancestor's familiar.

**_$Well, I am actually the heir of the Sslytherin family… or at leasst the ssignet ring accepted me as ssuch…$_** - he said carefully.

**_$Than I sshall choose you, young heir.$_** – said the serpent, before glancing at the angry Horcrux - **_$What should we do about the sspectre of the other one?$_**

**_$Sspectre?$_** - hissed Harry in confusion - **_$What doess that mean? I thought he called himself a Horcruxss$_**

**_$Iss that sso?$_** - asked the serpent kind in disgust - **_$He iss even farther gone than I expected… that iss the derkesst magic Ssalazar sspoke of… but even sstill he iss but a sspirit… or rather part of it, a horcruxss iss the object the ssoul iss bound to.$_**

Harry frowned and then it dawned on him – whatever a Horcrux was, it was an object that somehow made Riddle's spirit to manifest itself… most likely by feeding on Ginny's magic… thus it had to be the diary, since it was the only object present that didn't fit in.

**_$Okay… I think I know what the Horcruxss iss… we need to get to that diary and don't hurt the girl…$_** - hissed Harry, a decision forming in his mind.

**_$As you wish, young masster. Get onto my head, we're going down.$_**

Harry eyed the serpent warily, but did as he was told and jumped onto its' head. The trip down was indeed was very swift, actually it reminded him a bit of the cart ride at Gringotts and he was sure he would have enjoyed the speed, if not for the situation they were in. Once the snake passed between the very angry spirit of Tom Riddle and the pale form of Ginny, Harry quickly levitated the diary to himself. The boy looked at the book. This was the Horcrux obviously, he could feel some sort of energy around the book, though for some reason it felt rather familiar to him. Shrugging off the strange feeling, Harry slid off the enormous snake and asked her to bite the diary. Of course this more of a hunch than anything else, but since the diary was the thing that actually contained Riddle's spirit and Harry saw how his spell went through the black and white body earlier, he figured his best shot would be to destroy the diary itself. Even a twelve year old like him knew that basilisk venom was highly poisonous, so he figured it should do the deed. And indeed, as soon as the sharp fangs pierced the small black book, both the snake and the boy faced Riddle, who let out an inhuman shriek, as he began glowing from the inside, until finally he blew up in a shower of golden dust.

Harry sagged as tension left him and the only thing that kept him standing was the huge basilisk he was leaning on.

**_$Merlin, we did it…$_** - he muttered dazedly.

**_$That we did, young masster…$ _**- hissed the snake in amusement - **_$Now then, while there is a phoenix around, will you bond with me?$_**

**_$There iss actually some sort of thing we need to do?$_** - he asked curiously, trying his best not to yawn.

**_$Yess, masster, though it iss not difficult… just painful…$_** - the voice of the snake was definitely apologizing - **_$However there are many advantagess to thiss or I wouldn't ask this of you…$_**

It was almost like the snake was reluctant to inflict pain on him, that idea caused Harry to blink in amazement, it was certainly a nice feeling and not one he was accustomed to.

He knew then that whatever it was he had to do to bond with the basilisk, he would do it.

**_$Okay then, tell me about this.$_** - he hissed confidently, but with a hint of nervousness - **_$And while I understand this is a bit late for this question… I have to ask… What's your name?$_**

He felt embarrassed that he forgot to ask the serpent about its' name, not to mention he didn't even know if it was male or female. The snake on the other hand seemed rather amused, which Harry hoped was a good sign.

**_$I am Ssavanna, young one. It is undersstandable that you forgot your mannerss in the middle of a battle, sso I shall forgive you thiss once.$_** - the snake tried for the haughty expression, but since it was a snake and Harry was friends with Draco, it didn't really affect him much… other than make him want to laugh that is, but he was quite sure the enormous serpent beside him would not appreciate that. Thus he focused on what the snake was saying.

**_$It iss quite ssimple really.$_** - hissed the basilisk now known as Savanna - **_$All that need to be done is me biting you, you cassting the '_****_Astrictus_****_ una'[1] sspell, which will bind uss together, and then the phoenix healing you sso that you'll be both immune to poissonss that have anything in common with ssnake venom and your tearss will have the ssame propertiess as those of a phoenix. It will also establish a link between us, so that we'll be able to communicate mentally no matter where we are.$_**

Harry stared at the serpent. He was a bit apprehensive about the basilisk biting him, but was quite sure Fawkes would heal him. As far he understood it, the spell was an easy one and the good points were quite appealing, so he just decided to dig up the remains of his Gryffindor courage and just go with it.

* * *

As Harry woke up, he noted several things. One, his head hurt like he was hit with a bludger. Two, Savanna was nowhere in sight. Three, there was a quiet presence in his mind that was most likely the already mentioned basilisk. Four, a frantic Ginny Weasley was shaking him awake. He groaned lowly and opened his eyes:

"Ginny, you can stop shaking me now. I'm alright."

The girl let out a very relieved sigh that was more like a sob:

"Oh, Merlin, Harry I'm so sorry!" – she hurriedly spoke – "I swear I didn't mean to do it. It's all Tom. Ever since I began writing in the diary… It was me… I was attacking the students… I'm so sorry…" – by this point the girl was a sobbing mess. Even though Harry had his doubts about the girl, considering what her mother was like, but the display was just too pitiful. He carefully patted her on the back until she calmed down a bit and then they slowly got on their feet.

"Come on, Ginny, the twins are waiting just outside."

* * *

**1)**from Latin: bind together.**  
**

**Author's Note: Hey, people. I hope you're not too disappointed I didn't do the ritual scene. I promise it'll come up at one point. You'll just have to be patient. Anyway, the main event of the 'Chamber of Secrets' is over, so I'll probably get to the 'Prisoner of Azkaban' soon enough. =)**  
**P.S.: Thank you so much your wonderful reviews. As you all well know: reviews = inspiration = quicker updates =)**


	24. The Stay in The Hospital Wing

**DISCLAIMER: I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

The girl let out a very relieved sigh that was more like a sob:

"Oh, Merlin, Harry I'm so sorry!" – she hurriedly spoke – "I swear I didn't mean to do it. It's all Tom. Ever since I began writing in the diary… It was me… I was attacking the students… I'm so sorry…" – by this point the girl was a sobbing mess. Even though Harry had his doubts about the girl, considering what her mother was like, but the display was just too pitiful. He carefully patted her on the back until she calmed down a bit and then they slowly got on their feet.

"Come on, Ginny, the twins are waiting just outside."

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.**

The rest of the night Harry spent practically in a haze. He remembered him and Ginny meeting the others at the entrance, remembered Snape being there, remembered people asking questions. But he was so tired he just ignored most of them and fell asleep as soon as he was brought into the hospital wing.

When he regained consciousness, it was practically the same as last year when he woke up after saving the Sorcerer's Stone. He was in the infirmary, surrounded by lots of presents. Dumbledore was also there and that did not bode well. At first he just sat in his bed while the old wizard studied him.

"I am so glad you're finally up, my boy." – simpered the old coot, making Harry cringe in the inside. Those words from that man sounded really disgusting to him.

_'Urgh… how the hell didn't I notice how disgusting that sounds?_' – thought Harry, trying desperately to look anywhere but at the old man near his bed – _'I really hope someone comes by soon…'_

He did his best to be on his best 'idiotic Gryffindor' behavior, as Draco would call it:

"Headmaster Dumbledore? What happened? How did I get here?" – he asked, feigning confusion.

It was obvious in how the man's shoulders slumped, that he wanted details. Detail, which as it seemed, he wouldn't be able to get. That upset the old man quite a bit. He thought there'd be an epic tale to boost Harry's fame as the boy-who-lived, so that the Light would have more followers… oops, supporters, of course, supporters. But this Gryffindor child, the only child in the entire school, except the children of the dark purebloods, he was not allowed to touch, no matter how sweet the child looked, was not what you'd expect a Gryffindor to be. Oh, the headmaster knew that among his group of friends, that much to his annoyance included two Slytherins, the boy behaved his age and enjoyed life. However everyone else was met with a solid 'heir' mask, that made it really hard to get another spy near the brat.

"Oh, my boy," – insert a mental shudder from the said boy here – "You've been asleep for 7 days, your friends were very worried."

"A whole week? How come?" – came the expected worried response.

"While you were in the Chamber of Secrets, there was a strong magical explosion, madam Pomfrey believes you were caught in it."

_'I wonder… I don't remember there being an explosion… maybe it was caused by the bond settling itself?'_

**_'$That'ss correct, young masster…$'_** – came the hiss of his familiar from across the mentioned bond. It made Harry jump a bit, though he made sure Dumbledore wouldn't notice.

"Oh, headmaster!" – he exclaimed – "I wish I could tell for sure… there are flashes, but I just can't seem to remember it all…"

"Not to worry, dear boy, I'm sure it'll come to you sooner or later…" – consoled the headmaster, though Harry could see that he was not really satisfied with the answer he got – "Well, I shall leave you to your recovery. Mr. Longbottom brought all of your homework here, since I'm afraid you'll not be excused from the exams."

And much to Harry's relief the old man left him alone. The Matron was nowhere in sight and Harry wasn't sleepy at all, so he reached for the stack of parchment that was his homework. Much to his astonishment, he not only found the homework itself, but also notes on the missed classes. The handwriting was neat and rather feminine. He was pretty sure that Pansy or Draco took the notes, most likely Pansy obviously. He made a mental note to thank the girl later and the engrossed himself in the catch-up work he had to do in order to have a good score at the exams.

* * *

While Harry was busy with his school work, his friends – with worrying about him and Dumbledore – with pitying himself for not having enough information to proceed with his 'make Harry more famous' campaign, one Gellert Grindewald was busy reacquainting himself with the happenings in the world. The former Dark Lord spent quite some time in Numengard and now the first thing on his 'to-do' list was getting wand back from his traitorous lover. Dumbledore was another major thing on this list. He just had no idea what to do about the man. On one hand, Gellert knew that Dumbledore was very different from the man he remembered, but on the other hand he was pretty sure he could bend the so-called 'Light Lord' to his will… but all of that had to wait… since Wizarding Britain was not the domain of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Oh, Gellert read all about Harry Potter the 'boy-who-lived', but knew for a fact, like any other powerful wizard would, that the place was the Dark Lord was still occupied. Thus he himself couldn't do anything until the Lord came back. With that in mind, Gellert chose to relocate himself to the Wizarding Spain, where the political climate was unstable enough for him to make another grab for power.

* * *

When his friends finally were allowed to visit him in the Infirmary, Harry was already done with homework. He smiled at the people that cared enough to visit him:

"Hey, guys. I hope I didn't scare you too much."

Neville and the twins at once berated him for the ridiculousness of the very idea, while Draco and Pansy were more reserved. They wanted to know what happened in the Chamber, but like Dumbles, they had to settle for the 'I'm not exactly sure' Harry gave them. It was obvious that he knew more, but was not comfortable enough sharing the knowledge.

"Ron was finally transported to St. Mungo's… or rather their Spanish branch." – said George.

Harry frowned a bit:

"Why did they send him to Spain of all places?"

"Just to make sure Dumbles wouldn't get to him. After all Britain's relations with Spain are rather strained at the moment."

"Oh…" – was Harry's very intelligent response.

"Anyway, how are you feeling really?" – asked Pansy.

The Potter heir shrugged:

"Okay, I think. There is this feeling like something is missing… you know, like as if you had a part of your body severed."

"But you have everything intact…" – Draco frowned as he looked his friend over – "What are you missing?"

"I don't know…" – sighed Harry – "Dumbles said there was a magical explosion that rocked the castle while I was in the chamber… but I don't actually remember it… I know I got knocked out, so maybe I just missed it…"

George frowned:

"I remember that… scared the hell out of us… And while we are recounting the events of that night, I wish to thank you for what you did, Harry. You saved our little sister."

Harry gave the twins a huge smile:

"Guys, the five of you are my best… and most likely only friends, I did what I did because I knew you'd be very sad if she died. I'd do it for any of you, there is no need to thank me for it."

Pansy sniffed a bit:

"Well, at least now we know why you landed in Gryffindor."

Draco sniggered:

"Yeah, with a sacrificing streak that big, I'm astonished you're not a Hufflepuff…"

Harry huffed:

"For your information, I am in Gryffindor, because during the sorting I asked the hat to not put me in Slytherin."

This made all five of them gape at Harry incredulously. After a moment of stunned silence, they all seemed to speak at once.

"You refused to be a Slytherin?" – Pansy was a bit miffed.

"The Hat actually gave you choice?" – the twins were flabbergasted.

"Why did it chose Gryffindor?" – asked Draco.

"Why did you not want to be in Slytherin?" – asked Neville curiously.

Harry stared at his friends and then practically fell over, laughing his ass off:

"Merlin, guys, I love you. You're really something! I wish I had siblings like you. Come on, think a bit. Every person has a personality. And the personality is usually complex. The Hat sorts children basing on the dominant trait of their personality. Therefore since I'm both brave and ambitious I could have been as much a Slytherin as I am a Gryffindor."

The twins blinked. Even though they've been close friends with Harry for almost a year, sometimes they were astonished at the level of maturity the boy displayed at times.

Neville nodded:

"Well, if I'm honest, the hat did entertain the idea of sending me to Hufflepuff, since I'm rather shy around people I don't know."

"I could have been sent to Ravenclaw…" – Draco admitted reluctantly.

"Slytherin for us as well." – stated Fred, since George was busy thinking about who knows what.

Pansy wrinkled her nose as she pouted:

"It said I could be a Gryffindor."

Then there was a moment of silence as they stared at the girl that was like the epitome of Slytherin, at least to the rest of the school, and Harry joined his friends staring at her, since that was something he did not expect to hear. However unlike himself Pansy was spared from the rather uncomfortable conversation by the timely arrival of Madam Pomfrey, who shooed his friends out of the infirmary and gave him a check-up as soon as the kids were out of the hospital wing.

* * *

Poppy Pomfrey, as much as she respected Dumbledore at one point, knew for sure that the condition Harry Potter was in could only be blamed on the headmaster. Oh, of course, it was nowhere near what happened to the Weasley boy, but it was still there. The boy, as her scan showed, has been severely malnourished during the time before he came to Hogwarts and that meant that the muggles Dumbledore left the boy with were to blame. This threw a shade on Albus Dumbledore. Poppy had to admit, that if she hadn't treated Weasley before she made this discovery, she would not have connected this with Dumbledore. But not it seemed she had no other choice. She thanked Merlin that her mediwitch oath protected her from all sorts of mind magic, since what she found out about the Potter child was not something Dumbledore could be allowed to know… not without the boy's permission and the witch was quite certain that Harry Potter was not Dumbledore's biggest fan.

Once she had the diagnosis ready, she went back into the ward and approached the bed, where the boy was entertaining himself with one of the books his friends brought for him.

"Well, it seems you're doing all right, Mr. Potter." – she said amiably. Poppy chuckled under her breath when the boy dropped his book in surprise. He was so into his reading that he did not hear her approach.

"Oh, madam Pomfrey. Hello." – he said, putting away the book. He was rather embarrassed that he didn't hear her walk up to him – "Am I good enough to go back to the dorms?"

The mediwitch smiled at the boy, amusement clear on her face:

"You can go tomorrow morning. Now however I need to discuss something quite serious with you, Mr. Potter."

"Is there something wrong with me?" – Harry panicked at once.

"No, no, no. Calm down, Mr. Potter, your health is not in any danger." – Poppy hurried to reassure the panicking child, though she was fairly sure that the panic she manage to chase away would come back… and soon, considering the things she had to tell him.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello, people =) And this is another chapter finished. Whatever is Poppy going to tell the poor boy? Well, that will soon be obvious =) I hope you'll like it.**


	25. Discoveries Of All Kinds

**DISCLAIMER: I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

The mediwitch smiled at the boy, amusement clear on her face:

"You can go tomorrow morning. Now however I need to discuss something quite serious with you, Mr. Potter."

"Is there something wrong with me?" – Harry panicked at once.

"No, no, no. Calm down, Mr. Potter, your health is not in any danger." – Poppy hurried to reassure the panicking child, though she was fairly sure that the panic she manage to chase away would come back… and soon, considering the things she had to tell him.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.**

When Pomfrey assured him that he was not about to keel over, Harry felt rather stupid for immediately assuming the worst.

"Okay then… I'm not dying, that's good. But there is something wrong, or we wouldn't be having this conversation…"

_'Darn it… I hate situations like this…_' – the boy thought morosely _– 'How do I convince her not to tell Dumbles about whatever it is she discovered?'_

**_'$Calm down, little masster…$'_** – came the mental voice of his new familiar, making Harry jerk a little – **_'$Sshe iss a healer, iss sshe not?$'_**

_'Yes…'_ – he thought back at the basilisk, a little uncomfortable at having her able of hearing all his thoughts.

**_'$Then it matterss not if sshe'ss willing to tell the old wizard the truth or not, sshe iss under oath to not tell anyone without your verbal permission…$'_**

Harry was now really glad for having Savanna in his mind, since the ancient basilisk seemed to know a lot about magic, which wasn't all that surprising considering she was Salazar Slytherin's familiar and was almost a thousand years old. He then turned his attention to madam Pomfrey and noticed that the witch was giving him a concerned glance:

"Sorry, madam Pomfrey, I was a bit distracted. There is something I think you might need to know, being the one in charge of my health during the school year and all that… but it is something extremely private and frankly I can't risk it getting out…"

"Oh, Mr. Potter, no need to fret. I did take my healer's oath you know, I can't willingly or even under torture disclose any secret of yours without losing my magic."

"Really?" – he was actually rather horrified at the thought of either Dumbles or Voldie torturing anyone just to get information about Harry, but he preferred to have his secrets protected.

"Yes, really, Harry." – she gave him a warm smile – "And I'm quite willing to give you an additional oath of secrecy to put you at ease."

Harry blushed slightly. He had no idea what to do. On one hand he wanted the security of knowing without a doubt that whatever she knew about him wouldn't get into wrong hands, on the other hands he really wanted to trust the woman. His moment of silence, however, took the decision out of his hands as she gave the oath without a shadow of hesitancy. Harry thus did the only thing he could do – he accepted the vow. The boy gave Pomfrey a grateful smile.

"Thank you, madam Pomfrey." – he said – "It's not that I don't trust you… it's just that…"

"That you feel more secure knowing that your secrets are safe with me, Harry, I understand." – assured him the medi-witch – "Now then, I have something important to tell you, so please listen without interrupting. You can ask all of the questions after I'm finished. Can you do that?"

"Of course…" – replied Harry, feeling the unease creeping back. He knew he wasn't dying, but somehow he just knew that whatever he was about to hear would be just as bad, if not worse.

"Now then, the easiest things first: I've requested professor Snape to brew some nutritive potions to negate the effect of the malnourishment. I'm not going to ask that you tell me who is responsible for this, but I am going to help you get better."

Harry gave a sigh of relief. The last summer wasn't so bad and Harry hoped that his relatives were coming around finally, thus he decided to keep his home life to himself. After all if they just pretended he wasn't there, then he'd be able to do whatever he wanted to, that was not something he was willing to give up.

"Thank you." – he said, when it became clear that the woman wanted a reaction from him.

"On to the next matter, then..." – Poppy wasn't very happy that Harry didn't confide in her, but she knew he had his friends and should he need an ear, he'd have more than enough volunteers – "It seems, mister Potter, that whatever happened to you down in that chamber, triggered your inheritance, which is most likely the reason why you slept so long."

Harry knew he was not supposed to interrupt, but what the medi-witch just said was strange and he had absolutely no idea what it meant:

"Inheritance? What do you mean?"

Poppy gave the child a rather stern look for interrupting, but then she saw the total confusion on his face and had to fight the urge to hit herself on the head. How on earth did she forget that the child was muggle-raised?

"Well, Harry, you see… you come from an old pure-blood line, despite your mother being a muggle-born. Thus like many other pureblood witches and wizards you had the potential to come into a creature inheritance. See there are many types of magical creatures that can mate with humans, thus after a wizard or witch marrying a creature, the family of that wizard or witch carries the blood of the creature. And once in a while a descendant of such a marriage is powerful enough to come into the creature inheritance. Mind you this usually happens when the child turns 15, or in some cases 16. Due to whatever accident you had in the Chamber of Secrets, your inheritance was triggered early. Understand so far?"

The boy gave a dazed nod, his mind still in the process of wrapping around the new information he was told.

**_'$I'm ssorry, young masster,$'_** – hissed Savanna through their mind link – **_'$It wass probably my bite and the phoenix' healing that triggered this…$'_**

Harry made sure to calm down his familiar and while he did that, he calmed down as well, realizing that this would have happened to him eventually.

"I think I got it, madam Pomfrey." – he told the medi-witch.

"Good." – beamed the plump witch and went on with her explanation – "Now I can't really tell you what sort of inheritance you've come into, you'll have to discover that on your own. I'm quite sure that since you came into it early, the physical changes will not start until the summer, which is most likely a good thing if you don't want other people to know. As soon as you have an opportunity to do so, you'll have to go to Gringotts and order a family tree. This will help you find out the possible creatures you may have become. Once you figure out the possibilities, it'll only be the matter of researching the creatures and comparing them to the traits you develop. If you need anything, don't hesitate to write me."

"Thank you, madam Pomfrey." – replied Harry, still a bit dazed.

"My pleasure to help, Harry. Now run along, you've missed enough classes as it is."

* * *

The walk back to the dorms was like in a fog. At times only Savanna's hisses of 'stairs' or 'wall' stopped the clearly shocked boy from walking into the said wall. One time he almost fell down the stairs. Thus he really was lucky when he dropped onto his bed. Sleep came to him at once and though it was quite weird, he even had pleasant dreams, not the usual Dursley, or Voldemort related nightmares.

* * *

While Harry was getting his much needed rest, one Arthur Weasley was busy organizing a trip to St. Mungo's for all of his children. Of course it wasn't very easy, since the children wanted to know why it was needed and Molly was hard to work around. Now many people think Arthur to be a weak person who let his wife do all the thinking for him, but it was not exactly like that. You see, Arthur Weasley has been taking suppressant potions ever since he married Molly Prewitt. He'd known the woman was not good for him, but she was the one person his family chose for him and with no mate on the horizon, he agreed. His life was good, or so he believed, until one day he received a frantic letter from Fred and George.

**/flashback/**

Arthur Weasley was getting himself a glass of water when he saw a barn owl fly in through the kitchen window. The man frowned at the bird as it flew up to him and held out its' leg. Arthur untied the message and gave the bird a bit of water. He opened the letter and read the missive, rage building up in him as he read it.

_[Hi Dad!_

_The new school year has been rather weird so far, even worse than the previous one. We're sure Dumbledore didn't make this knowledge public, so we're telling you now. Ever since Halloween something has been attacking students. One girl, that muggle born Hermione Granger that Harry and Ron saved from the troll, was even killed and some kids got petrified. All of this and only after Hermione died our headmaster warned the student body to be more careful. As far as the rest of the school is concerned, she fell from the stairs. But us, Fred and I, along with Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy, know better. We were there when they found her body. True enough, she fell. But she was dead before she fell from the stairs. _

_Anyway, gruesome strange things aside, we have a bigger problem. Ron. He had an accident and was brought to the hospital wing, once Poppy performed some diagnostic charms, it was discovered that Ron was repeatedly raped while under the _**_Imperius _**_curse. Since Ron has been in a coma since the accident, Severus Snape, our potions master, used this thing… don't remember what it's called to look inside his mind and found out that it was DUMBLEDORE who's been doing this to our brother. We have no idea how long this has been going on, or if anyone knows about it, but we feel unsafe with just the possibility that the old bastard could have done this to someone else. _

_Yours, _

_George & Fred.]_

**/end of flashback/**

It took a lot of planning on Arthur's part but he managed to get Ron into a clinic that specialized on mental trauma in Spain. Of course it cost a lot of money, so Arthur finally had to give up his position in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts department and accept a better paid position in the DMLE. This brought on a huge argument with Molly and one night he overheard his wife's conversation with Albus through the floo. It hit him hard to know that his wife, the person he had been taking a suppressant potion for, had known about the old bastard raping his son. Still it was not as bad a hit as the one when he went to Gringotts and found out from the tapestry in his family vault that only four out of the seven children were actually his. This did not make him love the kids any less, but any hope for Molly was gone. The woman had to be dealt with.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm sorry if this turned out a bit rushed, but I really wanted to put some Arthur into the chapter =) Also I only have a vague idea about Harry's inheritance, so it'll take a chapter or two until he figures it out. He will have mates, though obviously not until he is 15 at least =) **


	26. The End of Second Year

**DISCLAIMER: I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

It took a lot of planning on Arthur's part but he managed to get Ron into a clinic that specialized on mental trauma in Spain. Of course it cost a lot of money, so Arthur finally had to give up his position in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts department and accept a better paid position in the DMLE. This brought on a huge argument with Molly and one night he overheard his wife's conversation with Albus through the floo. It hit him hard to know that his wife, the person he had been taking a suppressant potion for, had known about the old bastard raping his son. Still it was not as bad a hit as the one when he went to Gringotts and found out from the tapestry in his family vault that only four out of the seven children were actually his. This did not make him love the kids any less, but any hope for Molly was gone. The woman had to be dealt with.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.**

_[Dear Father,_

_I am writing to tell you that the horrid affair with the Chamber of Secrets is finally over. Though I shudder to think how you'll react, I have to tell you (or otherwise uncle Sev threatened to tell you himself) that my friends and I actually went to save the Weasley girl that was taken by the monster into the chamber. By my friends I mean Harry, Neville Longbottom, Fred & George Weasley, Pansy and myself of course. Dumbledore wasn't going to do anything so we went and did ourselves. You can calm down, no one except Harry and Ginny herself actually managed to enter the Chamber, no idea why. I have no idea what exactly went on, but Harry saved the girl. After that he spent a whole week unconscious in the Hospital Wing. Even Severus was worried, though he did his best to hide it. _

_Now that the drama is over, I believe we'll be able to finish the school year with no trouble._

_Your son, _

_Draconis Malfoy.]_

Lucius Malfoy put down the letter and sighed in exasperation. He had no idea how Draco and Pansy managed to become friends with Potter and his posse and right now he didn't know if it was a good thing or not.

_'I am however grateful that this ordeal is over… but to think that my son actually went along with Harry Potter to save the Weasley girl…'_ – he chuckled nervously – _'At least now that he's friends with those Gryffindors I can hope that my son won't join Voldemort should he return.'_

Though if he was totally honest with himself, the Dark Lord's political agenda was one that Lucius agreed with, but in the last years before Voldemort's disappearance, the Dark Lord became practically a maniac. His desire to isolate wizards from muggles became extremely violent for no apparent reason and he began ordering the raids. Of course such things happened before that point, but never without just cause. No matter how hard Lucius tried to come up with an explanation that was not 'the Dark Lord succumbed to madness due to the excess exposure to dark magic', Lord Malfoy did not succeed in this task and after the attack on Godric's Hollow he was forced to choose between his family and his Lord. Naturally he chose Draco and spent the last 11 years trying to clean the Malfoy name.

Thus when the ordeal with the Chamber of Secrets was over he was relieved for more than one reason. Not only was his son safe, but the Malfoy name was not connected to the story.

_'Harry Potter…'_ – mused the blond wizard _– 'There is something about that child… I just can't seem to put my finger on it…'_

* * *

The examination week was in process and Hermione Granger was one very unhappy ghost.

**%^Seriously, Baron!^%** - she pleaded - **%^Why can't I take the exams as well? You and the Grey Lady could check them. Please… pretty please…^%**

**%^Hermione, calm down already.^%** - snapped the Slytherin ghost **- %^Your training is nowhere near being complete, concentrate on that. Even if we let you take part, there really is no point. This knowledge will never be useful now that you're dead.^%**

**%^But I'm bored!^%** - whined the spirit of the Gryffindor girl - **%^Nick said to take a break, since I managed to help Harry with finding the entrance to the Chamber. So now I'm bored.^%**

The male ghost gave his charge a crooked smirk:

**%^Well, you did manage that, but you scared them shitless doing it. You're lucky they trusted you. Still, Nick is right, you shouldn't wear yourself out training so hard. Take a break. Go bother the merpeople or something…^%**

With an exasperated huff Hermione's transparent form floated away, leaving the Bloody Baron to chuckle in amusement as he watched her go.

* * *

Gaining power in Spain turned out to be rather easy, especially since the people were tired with the constant arguing between the princes and the parliament. Grindewald moved swiftly. In the space of one month the three remaining princes of wizarding Spain perished in various accidents, one even died in a car crash. Once that was done, he actually went through a questioning with Veritaserum at the parliament in order to gain a citizenship. True, he was a Dark Lord, but in Spain that certainly was not a crime. Since it was proven that he never did anything that was punishable by a life-time imprisonment (at least not by Spanish standards) and never practiced any of the forbidden magics, by the end of June Gellert became a free person once again. After that he did his best to rise in power, which also proved to be easy. He used the conflicts between the parliaments and made sure that he was always the one to come up with the best solution. Thus he was soon chosen to be the Minister of Magic. The even did an article about him in the 'International Prophet' and Gellert made sure to look his best at the picture taken, knowing full well it would unsettle Albus a great deal. He honestly couldn't wait to know how his old lover would react to the news.

* * *

While his lover was keeping himself busy, Albus Dumbledore was suffering from a serious case of sexual frustration, since his 'boy-toy' as he thought of Ronald as was missing. Oh he spent the weekends going to Knockturn Alley and renting boys. But he had to do so under glamours and even had to pay for it. It certainly did not do anything good for his ego. And when he actually found out about Gellert Grindewald not only not being in Numengard any more, but actually being the Minister of Magic of Spain, he pitched a temper tantrum worthy of Voldemort himself. He had no idea what angered him more no sex, or not being able to do anything about the person who killed his sister.

_'Ah, but he did not really kill sweet little Arianna…'_ – whispered a nasty little voice inside the headmaster's head – _'After all, two people can't really be responsible for one murder… and you know very well it was you who did it…'_

"No!" – Albus argued with his own conscience, not realizing he was speaking out loud – "He did it! He killed her! It was him!" – his voice was becoming hysterical – "I had nothing to do with it!"

_'Sure, sure… keep telling yourself that…'_ – mocked the little voice from inside his mind.

Albus has never been so happy about a knock on his door before, since it took his mind off of a really unpleasant subject.

"Come in!" – he called out and smiled widely as he saw a fourth year Hufflepuff boy, Diggory, his mind supplied. The child was very good looking for only 14 years old. Dumbledore had to fight really hard to keep his hands to himself as the child explained the situation.

_'Darn it, I really have to get laid…'_ – thought the old codger bitterly, as the cute teenager walked out of his office.

* * *

In the meantime Harry Potter and his friends were really enjoying the last month of school. There was absolutely nothing weird going on and the kids savored the stress free month… as if. While there certainly were no unexplainable things going on, there was still more than enough stress present, they had exams after all. Harry himself found them rather easy, since he's been studying really hard, but the same could not be said for everyone else.

Once they were done with the Potions exam, which was the last one, the group went to relax near the lake.

"Well, I for one am really glad this is over…" – sighed Neville as he sat under a tree.

Draco settled near the Gryffindor and relaxed:

"I usually enjoy exams, but even I'm tired."

They glanced at Harry, since he kept silent and both snorted as they found their friend sleeping with his head in George's lap.

The twins, being done with their exams as well, could now spend all their time with the gang. It certainly was better than listening to Ginny's nattering how brave Harry was and how they had such a beautiful future ahead of them.

"So how's your younger brother?" – asked Pansy, as she leaned against Fred – "I hope he's doing better."

George sighed and leaned against his brother tiredly:

"We don't know. Father sent him to a clinic in Spain. It is supposed to be really good and their Minister even took Ron for treatment for half a price once father told him what happened. But we've been told it'll be some time before any results are visible. From the first examination they said that his mind is very fragmented due to all the time the bastard obliviated Ron. And the **Imperio** certainly didn't help. It's like the son of a bitch did it on purpose."

As soon as these words were out of his mouth, the gang froze up. They shared rather scared looks and Harry, who woke up from his nap was the one to voice the thought they all had:

"He didn't do that on purpose, did he?"

They all shuddered in horror and disgust.

"I really wish I could transfer to Durmstrang right about now…" – Draco almost whimpered.

"You and all of us as well." – hissed Fred.

"Yeah. Still, I'm glad the Express leaves tomorrow. Less time for us to try and curse the bastard. We can't afford him knowing we're onto him."

Soon after that the kids had to go back to their dorms, since they had to pack for the summer, their conversation still on their mind.

* * *

The Leaving Feast was as grand as ever, with Gryffindor once again winning the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup.

"Next year, I'll lose as many points as I can for breaking rules. Let's see him give the cup to Gryffindor then…" – seethed Harry, as the headmaster once again awarded Gryffindor with a ridiculous amount of points for the Chamber of Secrets escapade. Harry even publicly argued about 'why only us? Draco and Pansy were there as well'. But Dumbles being his usual twinkly self, ignored his boy wonder speaking. Thankfully this at least stopped Severus from going on another 'I hate Potter crusade', since he realized that Harry didn't like the old coot's tendencies any more than he did. Obviously the bastard didn't say anything about the basilisk; he just said that they 'saved miss Weasley from a potentially lethal situation'.

"I hope his lies bite him in his wrinkly arse one day…" – grumbled Pansy, causing Draco to choke on his pumpkin juice and give the girl a rather fierce glare.

* * *

**Author's Note: And here is the end of second year. Nothing on Harry's inheritance yet, but I promise it'll come up in the summer chapters =)**

**Thank you for the wonderful reviews, I really enjoy them, especially the longer ones.**


	27. Summer Visits

**DISCLAIMER: I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

"Next year, I'll lose as many points as I can for breaking rules. Let's see him give the cup to Gryffindor then…" – seethed Harry, as the headmaster once again awarded Gryffindor with a ridiculous amount of points for the Chamber of Secrets escapade. Harry even publicly argued about 'why only us? Draco and Pansy were there as well'. But Dumbles being his usual twinkly self, ignored his boy wonder speaking. Thankfully this at least stopped Severus from going on another 'I hate Potter crusade', since he realized that Harry didn't like the old coot's tendencies any more than he did. Obviously the bastard didn't say anything about the basilisk; he just said that they 'saved miss Weasley from a potentially lethal situation'.

"I hope his lies bite him in his wrinkly arse one day…" – grumbled Pansy, causing Draco to choke on his pumpkin juice and give the girl a rather fierce glare.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.**

When Harry arrived at Privet Drive he was very pleased to find that while he was away the Dursleys built a ladder at the back side of the house which led to the attic. It was like he had his own flat. He could come and go as he pleased. Of course all the yard work was still on him, but he didn't mind, it was quite a good work out.

As soon as he arrived, he put all of his things into his room, still quite a bit weirded out at how tolerant the muggles have become. He was curious about what brought on the change, but he was not about to test his luck.

Once the chores were done for the day, Harry went back to his room and wrote out the summer plan of things to do.

_[1. Figure out what I am;_

_2. Learn as much as I can about the creature I'm turning into;_

_3. Find out how the basilisk blood and phoenix tears influence my inheritance;_

_4. Do the homework;]_

He pinned the list on the wall near his mother's picture from the album Hagrid gave him. The boy then noticed another book on top of the said album. It was not one he recognized, so Harry picked it up and gaped in wonder. This was a muggle album and it had lots of his mom's pictures in it. In some pictures there were other people as well. He saw a picture of his grandparents with Petunia being about 3 and his Mum a little toddler. Harry blinked the tears away and put the album next to the wizarding one. He then changed into his pyjamas and pulled out his mother's journal, figuring it would be a good place to start his research.

However much to his disappointment Lily Potter knew nothing about Regulus's creature, or if he even was one. That left him with a predicament. He did not want the whole world to know about his status, but he also knew that he had to find out what he was. Even as a 12 soon to be 13 year old, he knew that some creatures had destined mates. Thus he added another point onto his 'to-do' list. That point was 'get comfortable with what you are'. Of course to do that he had to first find out what he was, thus he got over his fears and one day went to Gringotts.

* * *

Sharpclaw the Goblin was rather surprised to see Harry Potter in his office again so soon. He arched an eyebrow as he studied the fidgeting child:

"Mister Potter, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh, Master Sharpclaw…" – Harry gave the goblin a nervous smile – "I have a thing I need to discuss… it's rather sensitive…"

"Very well…" – the creature paused to press a big yellow button on the side of the desk – "I have activated the privacy wards around the office. You can tell me anything. I will help you if it's within my power to do so."

The boy took a huge breath and gulped. Whatever it was he wanted help with obviously weighed down on him.

"See… I had an … accident during the year and it triggered my creature inheritance. Now I have no idea what that inheritance is or how to figure it out…"

Sharpclaw blinked a few times as he studied the child. Now that he was aware of the fact, he did notice the slightest change in the boy's scent that hinted at the creature blood, of course it was too faint to tell what the creature was:

"Well, this is most unusual. However we've already made a tapestry for you. If you study it closely, you'll see that the names of your family members are written down in different colours. Thus all the people whose names are written in purple have creature blood, however there is no way to know what creature they inherited. I'm afraid that you'll have to take your problem to St. Mungo's."

"WHAT?" – yelped Harry, clearly scared – "But… if I go there, people will know… isn't there any other way?"

"Now, Mr. Potter, I did not say you needed to tell everyone about your condition. Get yourself a personal healer and swear him or her to secrecy. They will be able to give you an inheritance test that will show you what you are."

"But…" – stammered Harry – "Would Madam Pomfrey be able to do it? She already gave me an oath…"

The goblin scratched his chin thoughtfully before he shook his head with a sad smile:

"Regretfully, she is not a member of the St. Mungo's staff. Therefore she doesn't have the access to what you need. However, she may be able to help you find a reliable healer."

"Oh…" – said Harry. He was rather disappointed. It's been two weeks already and so far he had absolutely no idea what sort of inheritance he received. His patience was becoming rather short, so he got a grip on his temper and politely thanked the goblin for his time.

* * *

Summer was Severus' favorite part of the year. For one, there were no dunderheads to teach. For another thing, he had lots of free time. Of course this summer was not quite like the rest of them, since he had a pet project. Right now he was hidden behind an invisibility spell and watching as Harry Potter worked in the garden.

_'Darn it, why the heck am I doing this?_' – he mentally berated himself – _'I know his life is not ideal, but still it doesn't look so bad… Oh, well, at least this I'll know that the old codger doesn't visit him during the summer…'_

He slowly went closer to where Harry was weeding the garden. It looked like the boy was talking to himself.

"Darn it… I really wish there was a way to figure out what this whole creature inheritance thing is without having to go to St. Mungo's… Maybe I should buy some more books and search for some spells… or maybe a potion?" – muttered Harry to himself, as he pulled out yet another weed.

Next to the boy, Severus was in shock.

_'Creature inheritance?'_ – his mind was racing – _'The boy isn't even 13 for Merlin's sake! What the heck is going on here?'_

He inched backwards and unfortunately stepped on a twig, causing Potter to whirl around.

"Who's there?" – yelped the boy quietly, looking around frantically.

With a muttered curse Severus cancelled his charm and enjoyed the look of total shock on Harry's face.

"Good day to you too, Potter."

"P-professor Snape!" – exclaimed Harry and practically fell over – "What are you doing here?"

"The events concerning young Mr. Weasley left me rather agitated. There are only several orphans in Hogwarts right now and we're keeping an eye on all of them… just to be sure…"

Harry gaped at the man who was sacrificing his free time to make sure he was safe. It was quite weird. But at the same time he felt oddly grateful that the older man was there.

"I appreciate you doing this. I admit when we found out, we were very disturbed as well. I even had madam Pomfrey check me over." – Harry frowned a bit, not understanding why he had no problems with saying something like that to Snape of all people.

"That was good thinking on your part, Potter." – said the man calmly.

"T-thank you, Professor…" – stammered Harry.

"Now, Potter," – the practically purred, enjoying how flustered the boy became – "What is it about a premature creature inheritance?"

That was certainly not a question Harry expected.

* * *

Later that day Harry found himself drinking tea with his Potions Master. Talk about weird. He really didn't feel like telling the man about his inheritance, but it seemed like there wasn't much of a choice. Thus he decided to just tell him.

"I will answer your question, but I really hope you can keep it to yourself, even my friends don't know."

"Oh? Then by all means. I won't breathe a word, I give you my word, Mr. Potter."

Usually he wouldn't be so accommodating, but his curiosity has been peaked and now he knew he wouldn't rest until he knew what the heck was going on with Potter.

"Okay…"

He paused for a second and then reached for his mental bond with his familiar, not sure how much to tell the Professor.

_'Hey, Savanna…'_ – he called – _'You there?'_

**_'$You called, young masster?$'_** – the basilisk responded quickly – **_'$Iss there something you needed?$'_**

_'Yeah. Snape found out about my inheritance, so I'm trying to explain everything so that he'll understand. Care to help me out?'_

**_'$Abssolutely, young one. I will sstay with you and whenever you don't know what to ssay, I sshall help.$'_**

_'Great, thanks.'_

Reassured that he would not make a fool of himself, Harry slowly told the Potions master what happened, keeping out only his bond with Savanna. He said the basilisk fled after it bit him.

Severus, being the spy that he was, knew that Potter was not telling the entire truth, however what he found out was still much more than he expected to learn, thus he let it go.

"By the way, you are right. There is a potion that can tell what sort of creature you are. Or more likely it will spell out the creature race and who you inherited it from."

"Really?" – Harry asked, his green eyes staring at Harry with awe.

"Yes, really, you brat. And before you ask, yes, I will make it for you. As long as you provide the ingredients."

Of course Severus was more than rich enough to afford buying the things on his own, but he did need to keep his image.

"Thank you, professor." – beamed Harry – "I'm really glad I didn't have to go to St. Mungo's."

"That is indeed fortunate, since they would have to inform the Ministry of your status." – drawled Snape.

"Seriously?" – asked Harry a bit agitatedly – "But Sharpclaw said…"

"Yes, I know. The law that says that every creature needs to be registered is a new one. And it only says that workers of St. Mungo's are obliged to tell the Ministry about new creatures, not that said creatures need to register, so do not worry." – snapped Snape a bit impatiently. He quickly wrote down the ingredients for the potion and threw in a few extra Harry might need next year so that the potion wouldn't be recognized when Potter went to buy those things.

"Wow, this is a lot of stuff. Are you sure I need to buy this on my own? Can't I just give you the money for them? I'm not that good at Potions…"

"Nonsense, Potter. You finished on top of the year… though I suppose you wouldn't know about that yet… sorry I've ruined the surprise…" – he gave a dry chuckle and Harry almost fell over in surprise. Snape was a lot different outside of school. And for some reason Harry liked this new Snape.

* * *

**Author's Note: And here's another chapter for you. Once again, thanks for the brilliant reviews. The secret of the inheritance coming up soon =)  
**


	28. Ingredients, Paddy & St Mungo's

**DISCLAIMER: I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**WARNING FOR THE CHAPTER: Will have mentions of rape.  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

"Wow, this is a lot of stuff. Are you sure I need to buy this on my own? Can't I just give you the money for them? I'm not that good at Potions…"

"Nonsense, Potter. You finished on top of the year… though I suppose you wouldn't know about that yet… sorry I've ruined the surprise…" – he gave a dry chuckle and Harry almost fell over in surprise. Snape was a lot different outside of school. And for some reason Harry liked this new Snape.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.**

After Severus left, Harry threw himself onto his makeshift bed and let out a groan he's been holding in for some time.

_'How do I get myself in these situations?'_ – he wondered, as he pulled off his clothes and turned off the light – _'Well, at least he promised to make the potion… which is a good thing… I wonder what is my inheritance? There were no changes so far… well, at least not any that were unexpected …'_

Harry frowned slightly as he considered the situation. He was both coming into an early inheritance and was slowly regaining his real appearance. How was he to know which changes were from the first thing and which from the second?

**_'$Masster, what hass you sso on edge?$'_** – Savanna's soothing hissing came from across their bond.

_'Nothing really… just some things I can't seem to figure out._' – he sent back as he turned onto his side to have a view of the open window _– 'Say, how is it that you always know what I feel?'_

**_'$That'ss becausse I do.$'_** – the snake deadpanned – **_'$We have a sstrong mental connection between uss. I feel whatever you feel and if I choosse to, I can even hear your thoughtss and ssince I have abssolutely nothing to do here in the chamber, I ssimply sstay with you all the time.$'_**

_'Oh…'_ – thought Harry, not exactly sure if he wanted his familiar to be privy to all of his thoughts. Still, considering the fact that he didn't exactly have a lot of people to talk to while he was stuck at Privet Drive, it could prove to be a good thing. At least he wouldn't be as bored as he was last summer – _'Well, good night then.'_

* * *

Hunting down the potion ingredients turned out to be a rather easy, if tiresome endeavor. Harry decided that buying everything in one place was risky, since there was always a chance that the owner of the apothecary would recognize what he could brew from the things on the list. Thus he only bought half of them as well as some extra things he found interesting. The rest he got during his trip to the Knockturn Alley. He was about to go back, when he noticed one very familiar person.

Harry had to blink a few times before it hit him – he saw Albus fucking Dumbledore meet with a young boy, probably even younger than Harry himself and disapparate with the said boy. Sometime ago he would think nothing of it, but with what he knew now even his almost 13 year old mind figured out what he saw – Albus Dumbledore picking up a prostitute. A male, under-age prostitute who looked disturbingly like himself. Urgh.

Harry shook his head to chase away the disgusting image and noticed a shop nearby. It was called 'Liam's Treasure' and it was obviously a book shop. A little voice in his mind that certainly was not his familiar whispered about how only evil stuff was found in Knockturn Alley, but the Potter heir ignored it and entered the store.

It was obvious at once that this was a really good idea. The books were definitely of the forbidden variety and it gave Harry a thrill. He picked out a book on Dark Healing spells and protection rituals, he figured it would be a good thing to study, especially considering his track record of getting himself injured. He was flipping through a book on Darker, but not yet Dark hexes and curses when he almost crashed into someone. The boy had a flashback of his meeting with Lucius Malfoy at 'Flourish & Blotts' last summer and the memory brought a blush to his cheeks. He jumped when he heard a chuckle near his ear.

"Mister Potter, we really need to stop meeting like this." – said the very same Malfoy lord he was thinking of, which made Harry blush even harder.

"Mister Malfoy…" – he practically croaked, his throat suddenly dry – "It's a pleasure to meet you again. I'm sorry for almost walking into you."

"Well, this time you stopped in time. That's an improvement, don't you think?" – teased the blond, his silver grey eyes almost sparkling in amusement.

"Absolutely." – muttered Harry – "I'm sorry but I really need to go. Tell Draco I said hi."

With that the flustered boy ran off to the counter to pay for his books, leaving Lucius alone with his amusement.

_'Well, that was odd…'_ – thought the Malfoy patriarch – _'There was something really familiar about him… And anyway, what the heck was he doing in Knockturn Alley of all places?'_

It was only his second time meeting the boy, but to Lucius Malfoy it looked like Harry Potter was a puzzle… And Malfoys do love their puzzles.

* * *

Once he returned to Privet Drive, Harry wrote a quick note to Snape informing the man that he already got everything. The boy tried not to sound overeager, but it was quite hard not to, since he was exactly that.

_'I hope I'm not something freakish…'_ – prayed Harry, as he watched Hedwig fly out of the window.

While he waited for Snape to write back, he busied himself with the summer home work. To his surprise the assignments were not very hard. Oh they were very big and required a lot of work, but they were not too difficult. He was doing his History of Magic essay, when Hedwig returned with a reply from Snape. Harry opened the letter eagerly.

_[Mr. Potter, _

_You definitely know how to be efficient. Since brewing the potion at your house will not be possible, you are to come to meet me at the edge of the wards surrounding your house in an hour._

_S. S.]_

Harry smiled as he put down the letter. He was really glad that things finally began going smoothly. The next hour was spent pacing around the attic. Harry also sent George a letter to explain the truth about what happened in the chamber of secrets. Of all of his friends, he felt that George was the closest, followed by his twin and then Neville and Draco. Pansy, nice as she was, was more Draco's friend and Harry felt a bit uncomfortable around the girl, though he thought it could also be explained by the fact that he didn't spend as much time with Pansy, as with his other friends. Finally it was time to go and Harry practically flew out of the house.

* * *

While Harry waited excitedly for his professor, a starved looking dog looked at the boy from behind the trash container. The dog better known as Paddy ("It's Padfoot damn it!") was very glad to see the boy. It wanted to go over, but the loud crack of apparition forced the beast to remain where it was. The tall dark haired man was one the dog knew very well, it growled lowly in anger as the boy seemed to be on good terms with the man. It crept closer and listened to their conversation.

"Professor!" – greeted Harry with a huge smile – "Thank you for doing this for me."

"Think nothing of it, Mr. Potter." – said the man, clearly a bit uncomfortable.

"Please, sir, call me Harry." – the boy blurted out and promptly blushed – "Outside of school … that is if you want to…" 

The dog gagged at that, not understanding why the boy would want the foul git to call him by his first name.

"Very well, then, Harry." – his name said in the velvet like voice of the Potions Master made Harry blush even more, though he really had no idea why … after all it wasn't like he liked the man …

"So… how are we doing this?" – the boy asked nervously and mentally clubbed himself over the head for sounding like an idiot.

Severus chuckled as he watched the boy fidget. He had to admit the way the child was reacting to his very presence was a bit strange, had Harry been a few years older, Severus would have said the boy had a crush, but he knew full well that 13 was a bit too young even for crushes. And since he was the boy's teacher it was a relief. He had never been in a situation where his student lusted after him and he had no intention in ever gaining the experience.

"I'll apparate you to my house. We can make the potion there. It's near the Alley, so you can go buy the books on your creature once we know what it is."

"Okay." – Harry agreed easily and gave Severus his hand when the man reached for it.

The dog saw the man take the boy's hand and it knew they would apparate. It sprinted out of its' hiding place, running full speed towards the two wizards. It was unfortunately too late to stop them. The dog then morphed into a tall, extremely skinny man with unhealthily pale skin and matted black hair.

"DAMN IT!" – snarled the man as he kicked a random tree – "What does Snivellus want with my godson?"

* * *

Arthur Weasley marched all of his children into St. Mungo's to see his… or rather his father's family healer. All the children were very confused… well except the twins that is. They knew why this was necessary and hoped that none of their siblings would turn out to be Dumbledore's victims. Bill and Charlie went in together and emerged from the room very quickly, giving their father a questioning look.

"I will explain later, boys." – Arthur muttered quietly – "Now, please, go to the Burrow and make sure to distract your mother. She can't know where we are."

Charlie frowned:

"I get the feeling that there is something big going on."

His father sighed softly and gave his son a brief but strong hug:

"There is. But like I said this is not the place for this conversation."

"Okay, Dad." – agreed Bill – "But you will tell us, right?"

"Yes, boys, I will."

Percy's exam took much longer and even before his son went out, Arthur knew that Percy had also been violated. As soon as the boy exited the room, Arthur hugged him tightly as Percy broke down. Much to the surprise and horror of his father, he was muttering something about Pettigrew and his rat. Arthur knew this was important, but calming down and taking care of Percy was right now much more important.

Fred and George already had an exam at Hogwarts, but they took another one just the same, since they knew that their father was very worried. They soon were back with their father and brother and it was Ginny's turn. About half an hour later the medi-witch came out and gestured for Arthur to join her in the office. Arthur gently gave Percy over to the twins and followed the healer, his mind already giving him horror filled ideas.

"Please, Mr. Weasley, take a sit." – said the healer, as she closed the door behind them.

Arthur did as he was told, his fear for his daughter practically clouding his mind.

"Please, Healer White. Is my daughter alright?" – he asked desperately.

"Ginevra… her case is even worse than that of Percy."

"And what happened to Percy? He was raped?"

The healer frowned:

"You knew?"

Arthur blanched at the unsaid accusation:

"Merlin forbid! My son Ron… while he was in school one his professor, Severus Snape, discovered that he was under the **Imperius** curse. Once the curse was lifted, my son had a big breakdown which led to him falling into a coma. With no other option, they used Legillimency on my son. It was discovered that he had been repeatedly raped and obliviated afterwards. Once he went to Hogwarts, the rapist opted to place him under the Imperius." – Arthur sighed and shuddered – "When I discovered my wife was aware of the situation, at least partially, I arranged for my children to come see you, since you've been my family's healer since before I was born."

Aubrey White patted Arthur on the hand, as she apologized for her assumptions:

"Arthur. I will get to Ginevra in a few moments. First know that both Bill and Charlie, as well as Fred and George are absolutely fine. Percy on the other hand… he shows signs of sexual abuse. He definitely has a few memory charms on him. When I checked him… well… this isn't easy… your son was raped by a man who by all counts should be long dead."

"What?" – now Arthur was really confused. He suspected Dumbledore, but obviously that was not the case, or at least not only the headmaster was involved.

"I've extracted the suppressed memories, so he only knows that it happened, but he does not remember any details."

"Why would need those memories?"

"See, the man… or I should really say the first man who raped son… was one Peter Pettigrew… and we all know that man was supposedly killed 12 years ago by Sirius Black."

Arthur slumped back in his chair. His son's sexual abuse was connected to a murder case … it really couldn't get any worse, thought Arthur … and since that was a rather bad thing to think , Arthur would soon find out that things could indeed get much much worse.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yep, I'm a horrid horrid person. I left it just like that. But don't you worry, my dears, the next chapter will come soon. Just what is Harry's creature? And what the hell is wrong with Ginny? Care to guess? It will mightily entertain myself, maybe even give me an idea or two =)**


	29. Ginny's Predicament and Welcome Paddy

**DISCLAIMER: I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

"See, the man… or I should really say the first man who raped son… was one Peter Pettigrew… and we all know that man was supposedly killed 12 years ago by Sirius Black."

Arthur slumped back in his chair. His son's sexual abuse was connected to a murder case … it really couldn't get any worse, thought Arthur … and since that was a rather bad thing to think , Arthur would soon find out that things could indeed get much much worse.

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.**

When Severus apparated himself and the young Gryffindor to his house in Spinner's end he had to catch the boy around his waist to prevent him from falling on his face. This clumsiness brought a dry chuckle of the usually stern and dour Potions Master. Harry for his part spent a few moments in the arms of the older wizard trying to regain his breathing and not lose his lunch. As soon as he was okay, he stepped away from Snape, a blush once again staining the boy's cheeks.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about, Po… Harry." – said Severus, struggling with the boy's name – "Apparation is always unpleasant the first few times you do it. Did you bring all the ingredients?"

"Yes, sir. I'm pretty sure I got the right things, I just hope the quality is good enough…"

Severus took the bad from Harry, opened the door and ushered the child inside the house. While the outside was not very inviting, the inside was very homely, or at least Harry thought it was. Snape told the boy to sit down and brought a pitcher of orange juice to the sitting room.

"Now I will go and brew the potion. You may busy yourself with some books…" – he said – "or you could even take nap. Just stay out of trouble. And don't snoop around."

The last remark brought a grin to Harry's face and he settled down on the couch. Considering all the running around he had to do that day, a nap sounded rather good. With that thought the boy snuggled into the pillow, which smelt faintly of Severus, and quickly fell asleep.

Several hours later, when it was already getting dark outside, one rather tired Severus Snape walked out of his personal potions laboratory. He was about to shout for Potter, when he noticed the boy was asleep on the couch, curled around his pillow. The man chuckled lightly, thinking the boy was rather adorable like that. He crouched beside the couch and gently shook Harry awake, taking care not to startle the boy.

"Professor?" – mumbled Harry sleepily while rubbing his eyes.

"Indeed, Harry." – replied Severus –"Come on, up with you. The potion is ready."

That had the boy wide awake in a matter of seconds, bringing a smirk to Severus' lips.

* * *

Arthur cursed under his breath. Not only he had to send another child to Spain, but he also had to contact Amelia Bones, his boss and let her know about the new information. At least, he thought, he could bring one of the bastards who hurt his kids to justice.

"Now," – continued Aubrey – "I'll move to Ginevra's case. I will warn you, it's even worse."

"Tell me." – said Arthur resolutely. He was aware that whatever happened to his little girl was no doubt horrible, but he needed to know if he wanted to help her recover.

"First of all, Ginny is a virgin… in the traditional sense…"

"You mean..?" – he whispered brokenly.

"Yes, your daughter was raped. Anally. Only once and quite a while ago. Obviously she does not remember it, which is a good thing. However the problem is different… I don't even rightfully know how it's possible…"

"Just tell me, Aubrey."

"Your 11 year old daughter… is a pregnant virgin."

Healer White expected him to yell, or maybe even cry. She, however, did not expect him to faint. The woman shook her head sadly and woke the man up.

"Oh, hey healer White…" – said Arthur rubbing the back of his head – "I just had a really horrible dream…"

The elderly witch sighed and helped the red head back to his chair:

"Sorry to say this, but it wasn't a dream, Arthur, now get a grip. I'd prefer if you didn't faint again. A calming draught perhaps?"

"Yes, please." – rasped Arthur, downing the potion as soon as the vial was pushed into his hands.

"Well, then…" – the woman continued with her speech – "The situation is quite bizarre. Ginevra is just 11 years old. It should not be possible for her to be pregnant at all, especially since she's a virgin. Thus I've contacted madam Pomfrey and gotten your daughter's medical file. As you know, Ginny has been possessed for the better part of the school year…"

"WHAT?" – yelped Arthur. That was not something he was aware of – "What do you mean possessed? By what?"

"Oh dear…" – whispered the healer as she massaged her temples and began explaining the situation to the best of her knowledge – "It has to do with their time at the Chamber of Secrets. Obviously this is all my guess work and no one will be able to tell you whether I'm right or wrong except your own daughter, or maybe Mr. Potter perhaps… but Poppy said that the diagnostic charm showed clear signs of possession. There were also reports of a huge magical outburst that literally shook Hogwarts from bottom to the roof. And now Ginevra is pregnant. I cannot tell you how it happened exactly, though I will do my best to research the topic. Obviously we tried to abort it, since a child of her age is unlikely to actually give birth without complications, but… the fetus seems to be resistant to termination hexes."

"So what can we do?" – asked Arthur. Of course he knew that technically Ginny wasn't his daughter and even though when he found out he thought that he wouldn't care one way or another, the man did feel a bit better that none of his own kids were subjected to such trauma. That thought made him feel like a bad parent and he made an effort to throw it out of his mind and concentrate on the conversation – "How can we stop this?"

Aubrey gave Arthur a knowing smile:

"I don't know right now, but I will figure something out. Normally I would suggest to transfer the fetus to a willing woman who wants to be a mother, but since we have no idea who technically is the father and how the fetus will react… well, for now take her home, she's in no immediate danger. In the meantime I will do my best to research the problem, even set up a meeting with the Potter heir and see if he can shed some light on the situation."

Mr. Weasley frowned:

"How would he help? It's not like he did this…"

"Of course not. But he was there. His memory of the event will help me greatly."

"Oh… okay then…"

With that a very shaken Arthur Weasley took his sleeping daughter into his arms and went into the corridor where the twins were waiting with a sleeping Percy.

"Hey Dad." – greeted George quietly, trying not wake up his older brother – "Are we going home?"

"Yes." – sighed their father as he shifted Ginny in his arms, trying , but failing to reach the portkey in his pocket – "Fred, be a good boy. Take the portkey. I can't reach it. It's in my back pocket."

Fred, sensing the gloomy mood, tried to lighten it:

"Wow, a chance to grope dad!" – he smirked cheekily as he reached around his father's tall frame to fish out the pocket watch that was the portkey.

"Fred!" – admonished Arthur lightly, but a twitching corner of the mouth told the twin in question that his objective was achieved.

* * *

Harry followed Snape into the potions lab and fidgeted as Severus picked up a vial.

"So this is it?" – asked the boy excitedly – "Do I just drink it? Or do I need to add blood? Or is there some…"

"Potter!" – barked the potions master, highly amused by the boy's perky behavior – "Breathe."

"Professor…" – whined the child – "I told you to call me Harry…" – he added a pout at the end, making a very cure puppy dog expression.

"Ah" – snickered Severus – "I see you've adopted Pansy's habit of making that expression when you want something. Unfortunately for you I'm already used to that one… Very well, Harry," – the man drawled the name – "You need to add three drops of blood into the potion. Shake it for exactly a minute and then drink it. Wait for 5 more minutes and then put tree drops of blood on this parchment. Everything will appear on the parchment about 20 minutes later."

* * *

While Harry and Snape were waiting to find out what sort of inheritance the boy came into, one very angry animagus was pacing around the Dursley house. He did his best to stay out of sight, even if he was in his dog form. He could not understand how his godson, the son of Lily and James would willingly go anywhere with that greasy bastard. The very idea made the wizard want to retch. Unfortunately he was in position to ask anyone to help him. Thus his only option was waiting for his godson to come back. Since he had nothing better to do, he thought about the event that changed his life, gave him the will and resolve to do what no one else has done before – escape from Azkaban, the wizarding prison, perhaps only slightly better than Numengard.

**/flashback/ **

Sirius Black was lying on his cot, staring at the ceiling and listening to Rabastan and Rudolphus Lestrange fight with Rudolphus' wife and Sirius' cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black. It wasn't pleasant at all, not with all the death threats and screaming, but it was much more entertaining than just staring at walls. Still, it was becoming a bit old and he was ready to yell at them, just to give a different direction to the argument, when he heard footsteps. Visitors were very rare on their floor and it made both him and the Lestranges shut up and get close to the bars, eager to see who decided to pay them a visit. Seeing Fudge, however, was a disappointment. The Minister of Magic, while being a pompous ass, was a total coward. Baiting him was absolutely no fun. That was something even Bellatrix agreed with.

"Minister, what a pleasant surprise!" – simpered his cousin, doing a fairly good imitation of her younger sister, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black – "What brings you here on this sunny day?"

Obviously the woman didn't know if the day was actually sunny, but she preferred pretending that it was, just to keep her mood somewhat nice. Sirius found that it worked for him as well. He decided to throw in his two cents into Fudge-baiting:

"Come, come! Would you join us for a cup of stale water?" – he fell into his pureblood manners easily, especially since it gave other the impression that he was completely bonkers.

The Lestrange brothers snickered in the cell across the corridor, so Sirius could see them make faces at Fudge's back.

"Ah, Mr. Black." – greeted Fudge – "As crazy as ever I see…"

Sirius spied a fresh copy of the Daily Prophet in the man's hands:

"Oh, newspaper!" – the prisoner cooed – "Would you be so kind as to give it to us? It is so dreadfully boring here… and the dementors are absolutely no fun…" – here he pouted and his cousin whined from the cell next to him.

"Well… uhm…" – blubbered the stupid idiot – "I suppose there is no harm in that…"

He threw the paper threw the bars and Sirius the Prophet quickly, cradling it against his chest, practically salivating at the prospect of finally getting some news.

With another glance around the prison the Minister left and after a moment of total silence Bellatrix said from her cell:

"Either read it aloud, or pass it to me when you're done, Siri-bear."

Sirius bristled at the nickname, but stayed silent, since it brought back childhood memories. And now that he was older and stuck in prison he could actually admit that his childhood was not a total hell… Somehow that admission made him more tolerable towards his relatives who were his only company here in Azkaban.

The man opened the paper and gaped at the picture.

"FUCK!" – he snarled as he recognized just who he was seeing.

"Oi! Black!" – asked Rudolphus from the cell across his own – "What's up?"

"Fucking rat!"

"Oi! I'm not a rat!" – came the indignant voice of Rudo.

"And I'm not talking about you." – barked Sirius.

"Then start making sense!" – drawled Bellatrix from the next cell.

"You know Pettigrew?" – asked Sirius with a sigh.

"The idiot who followed you, Potter and Lupin around?" – asked Rabastan, clearly confused – "Didn't you blow him up?"

"No!" – exclaimed Sirius – "How come you don't know? I thought you were close to Vol…"

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME!" – yelled all the three Lestranges.

"… fine, You-Know-Who."

"We were…" – agreed Bella – "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"The fucking bastard was the one who sold Lily and James out to Voldemort!"

Bella snorted:

"That's unlikely. He's a spineless moron. Our Lord has no need for people like that."

"None the less, Dumbledore said…"

Rudolphus rolled his eyes:

"Dumbledore said? Seriously? After the old codger threw in here without a trial, I thought you'd grow a pair!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" – Sirius was clearly affronted and confused – "There was nothing the headmaster could do…"

"Yeah, sure…" – drawled Bellatrix – "He's the fucking chief warlock of the Wizengamot? And he was not in the position to order for a trial? Cousin dear, I think you lost it."

"Lost what?" – Sirius obviously wasn't being thick on purpose, but the conversation was going into unknown waters and he was having trouble wrapping his brain about the information that was being discussed.

"Your fucking mind, that's what!" – snapped Rabastan – "How can you be so stupid? The man ordered for you to be thrown here. I was there when they arrested you."

**/end of flashback/**

The dog growled at the offending memory and continued pacing, paying no attention to the occasional muggles that went about their business and sometimes bumped into him.

* * *

"Well, this is unexpected." – said Severus as he watched the parchment.

"Do know what this creature is?" – asked Harry, staring at the strange name.

"No." – Severus shook his head – "Never heard of it. However I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find what information you need. There is a very good bookshop in Knockturn alley, it's called 'Liam's…'"

"Liam's Treasure. I know. I've been there." – admitted the boy. He folded the parchment and put it into his back pocket – "Thank you for your help, professor Snape."

"Think nothing of it, Harry. Now get back to your relatives before anyone notices you're missing."

* * *

**Author's Note: And I'll stop here. I know I still didn't say what sort of creature Harry, sorry for that. I'm having some trouble coming up with a nice name for the species. Anyway, I'm sorry for the mix up up with the Weasley's healer, Aubrey White. I fixed it, but if you have any doubts, it's a woman after all. I planned for it to be a guy, but well, didn't go that way.  
Yeah, before you say it, I know that becoming pregnant at 11 isn't plausible... but what can I say... it's another one of my twists =) Hope you like how the story is going. Thank you all so much for reading, and most of all for reviewing the story.  
**


	30. Book Hunting and Molly Punishing

**DISCLAIMER: I'd like to remind you that my name, unfortunately is not J. K. Rowling and thus I do not own Harry Potter, just the plot twists and the original characters that will eventually crop up =)  
**

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah'_ - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghost speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord'**

"Do know what this creature is?" – asked Harry, staring at the strange name.

"No." – Severus shook his head – "Never heard of it. However I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find what information you need. There is a very good bookshop in Knockturn alley, it's called 'Liam's…'"

"Liam's Treasure. I know. I've been there." – admitted the boy. He folded the parchment and put it into his back pocket – "Thank you for your help, professor Snape."

"Think nothing of it, Harry. Now get back to your relatives before anyone notices you're missing."

**On with the story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.**

When Harry arrived at Privet Drive, it was already dark outside, not because of the dark clouds that covered the sky as it was when Harry left Severus' house, but really dark. A glance at his watch told him that it was around 11 PM. Harry winced slightly and thanked Merlin that he had separate access to the house. He certainly didn't want to have a talk with his aunt about why the hell he was out so late at night. Quietly he climbed the ladder into the attic and sprawled tiredly on the bed. He was too tired to notice the letters on the bed, or the dog in the garden. He cuddled his pillow and fell asleep.

**…**

Morning came rather abruptly. Harry woke up around 10 AM to the sounds of loud barking and his aunt's shrieking.

'What the hell are they doing?' – the boy wondered as he got out of bed and looked out of the window. The sight that greeted him was rather amusing: a severely underfed huge black dog was running around the garden with no consideration for the flowers and it was chased by aunt Petunia who was swinging the frying pan at the animal in fruitless efforts to chase it away. Harry snorted.

_'Well, that's interesting.'_ – he thought as he put on some black pants and a green silk shirt – _'Still … I need to do research. Ryu-youkai… what the hell are those? At the very least it doesn't sound English… actually it doesn't sound like anything I've heard before…'_

The boy bent down to put on his shoes and it was then that he noticed the letter on his bed.

_'Well, I guess I know what was scratching my back…'_ – he chuckled and picked up the green envelope.

_[Dear Harry,_

_I am writing to you on the request from a friend of mine, Aubrey White. She is the Weasley family healer. There have been complications after Ginny's time in the Chamber. Aubrey would like to meet you at the soonest possible moment. I've read over Ginny's files and can guarantee you that it is imperative that you meet with the woman. ]_

Harry frowned. He had no idea what Pomfrey meant by 'complications', but considering his own situation, he figured he had no right to judge. As far as he himself was concerned, he had better things to do, however Ginevra was the twins' sister. The girl he risked his life to save.

'Darn it, I need to get rid of this saving people thing… or it just might be the death of me…' – whined Harry, as he glanced back at the letter.

_[… if you're agreeable, than there is a coin in the envelope. It's a portkey. You need to touch it with your wand and say 'Infirmary'. It will bring you to my summer house. From there we can call Aubrey and arrange a visit immediately._

_Poppy Pomfrey.]_

Harry threw a glance at his aunt, who was still chasing the dog and sighed.

_'I guess I'll do this first. It's like they're going to stop anytime soon…'_

**…**

Harry landed in a heap and cursed. Portkeys were so not his favorite kind of transport.

"Ah, Harry!" – came the voice of the medi-witch – "You really should learn to land better… and there is no need for such bad language…"

"Well, if someone would bother to tell me just how do I keep myself from falling on my face when I use magical means of travel…" – grumbled the boy.

"Oh you poor baby…" – chuckled the witch and went to the floo to tell her friend that Harry Potter arrived. While the woman was away, Harry studied the room he was in. It was very cozy, with light brown wooden walls and soft rugs on the floor. The furniture was darker brown. There were several bookcases that soon drew Harry's attention and he was so engrossed in reading the titles, looking for something to catch his interest that he missed the return of Madam Pomfrey who was accompanied by another woman, no doubt the already mentioned Healer White.

* * *

While Harry was getting acquainted with Aubrey, Sirius was most certainly not having fun. At first when he woke up because of the frying pan that just narrowly missed him, Black thought it would be easy to evade the woman, but Petunia Dursley was very persistent. She spent two hours chasing him and swinging the damned thing. To his horror Sirius briefly wondered if it would be okay to Crucio the horse-like woman.

_'Bad thoughts, Padfoot, bad thoughts!'_ – he chastised himself _– 'You're not Bella, torturing muggles does NOT turn you on!' _

Finally having enough, Sirius made a mad dash for the street and ran as far away as he could, while Harry's aunt huffed and went into the house, congratulating herself on the victory.

* * *

"Why would you need that memory?"- asked Harry defensively. He of course wanted to help Ginny, but giving the healer the memory in question could turn out to be a really bad thing.

Aubrey sighed. She could not tell the boy about the situation, since it was against her vow, but she saw that he was not eager to share the memory with her… it was like Potter was hiding something…

_'Well even if he is, it's not his actions that interest me… but I will witness them none the less… and that is not something he's willing to allow…'_ – thought the old witch – _'Now how do I..? Oh!'_

She gave the boy a smile, as a solution became obvious:

"Mr. Potter it is imperative that I view the memory. You say yourself you can't explain properly what happened, thus I need to view the memory to see what I can find. Of course I am willing to give you my oath as a healer that any information you reveal will stay confidential."

Harry hesitated. He knew logically that if he wanted to save the girl (and he did, she was after all Fred & George's younger sister) he had to let the woman view the memory… and thus with a heavy sigh he agreed quickly before the courage left him.

**…**

Aubrey White was an experienced healer. She had her fair share of strange cases. The woman knew the Ginny Weasley would top all of those, but only after she viewed the memory, did she realize just how extraordinary the whole thing actually was. The boy in front of her bonded with the basilisk of Salazar Slytherin himself… and she couldn't discuss it with anyone except Poppy. Still, now she had a much better understanding of what happened and how Ginny, who hasn't even had her first period yet, was pregnant. Of course she was aware of the fact that these things were possible and there were several cases of very early pregnancy. But the case was more complicated than that. What she witnessed in the memory explained everything and much more. The woman shook herself and gave the boy a smile:

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. You memory made everything clear. It will be difficult, but I know now what to do."

"Of course, Healer White. It was nice meeting you. I hope Ginny gets better soon."

With that Harry used the floo to go to Diagon Alley for some shopping.

* * *

Much to his disappointment, he only found several books that mentioned the Ruy-youkai and only in passing. Still, he found out that the 'dragon demons' were mainly a Japanese species. Or at least it began that way. Over time some of them went to other countries and settled there.

_'Darn it, the most informative book I found was a muggle collection of legends… how weird is that?'_ – Harry complained to himself _– 'Of course it is at least a good thing that they're not extinct or something… that would have certainly been something usual for my luck… still, I really need to find something that will tell me more about what being a dragon demon will mean for me… and about how coming into the said inheritance early would influence the development of my creature side…'_

With a heavy sigh he shook his head and blinked in surprise. He picked up a lock of hair and brought it up to his eyes. It turned out light was not playing tricks on him – he had some bark blue strands, how many was a question the boy decided to answer as soon as he got his hands on a mirror. This was a curious change and Harry wondered if it was due to the glamour weakening, or if maybe it was part of the inheritance.

**…**

Sirius Black was nursing a huge bruise on his side when he saw his godson return to the house. He gave a sigh of relief. He had no idea what the trip with Snivellus was about, but he was very glad Harry seemed unhurt. The prison escapee wanted to introduce himself, but he didn't know what to say to the boy, how to persuade the child that he was not the one who sold out Lily and James to Voldemort.

_'DARN IT! WHAT THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?'_ – the animagus wailed mentally, as he stared longingly at Harry's window.

The night was a long one, since all Padfoot did was stare at the window like a total loon. This single-mindedness of his was a rather new development and if one were to trust Bellatrix' opinion, it was an endearing quality. Endearing or not, tenacity was the thing he needed if he wanted to prove his innocence, Sirius decided. For the nth time since his escape, Sirius toyed with the idea of seeking out Dumbledore's help, but whether he liked it or not, his talk with the Lestranges was practically burnt into his mind. With all the new things he found out, Albus Dumbledore did not seem like a good choice of a person to help him. With a sigh the black thin dog closed his eyes and fell into a restless sleep.

**…**

While his dogfather was trying to get some sleep (not that Harry was aware of the man's existence), Harry Potter looked over the list he wrote out. No matter how he looked at it, there were just too many holes he couldn't fill on his own, which meant that he needed help with research. The twins, though probably the choice he would have preferred, were still living in one house with Molly Weasley as far as he knew and that woman was nowhere near being on his trust list. Thus Harry considered his other friends. All of them were purebloods like him and unlike him lived with their families. Thus, Harry figured, they would have access to more books that wouldn't normally be sold in Diagon Alley. He only needed to decide who to trust with his secret. First his thoughts turned to Pansy, but the girl could be such a gossip that Harry didn't want to risk telling her. Neville, the Potter heir thought, was definitely trustworthy, but his Gran sounded too domineering and he doubted Neville would be able to keep this a secret from her and since he knew close to nothing about the woman, he decided against telling Neville, at least not yet. That left him with Draco and the new girl he met, Luna. She did seem like a nice person, if a bit of an airhead, but he knew was in no way close to her and so couldn't bring himself to trust her.

_'Well, I guess that leaves Draco…'_ – mused the boy – _'I guess I'll tell him first. Of course Snape and Pomfrey are an option as well, but still, I want at least one of my friends to be the first person to find out.'_

* * *

To stay that Draco Malfoy was surprised to receive a letter from Harry was like saying that the sun shone as bright as the moon. Of course that surprise was nothing compared to the shock he received when he read the letter.

"NO FREAKING WAY!" – exclaimed the blond boy and reread the missive… just to be sure he understood correctly.

_[Dear Draco,_

_I hope your summer is going nicely. I myself am rather busy this summer because of something that was triggered by the events at the end of school year. As it is rather difficult to explain properly, I'll begin with the Weasley situation. You already know about Ron, but I recently found out that he was not the only victim. I know for sure that something is very wrong with Ginny as well, though I haven't gotten in touch with the twins yet, so I don't know about the rest the rest of them. I'll get back to you about that later as well._

_Okay, you've probably already realized that I'm stalling. And indeed I am. I have no idea how to say this properly, so I'll be blunt. While in the chamber of Secrets, I've acquired a new familiar, though I won't say what creature it is just yet. Our bonding created a magical wave that triggered my creature inheritance to come early. And this is where I need your help. You see, I have become a 'Ryu-youkai'. If that means anything to you then you're in a better position than I am. I've managed to acquire several books that mention them, but only in comparison to other creatures. And then there was a muggle book that had a section about Ryu-youkai related legends, Obviously that is nowhere near enough information, but I've exhausted my resources. I have no idea where to look next. This is something that only Pomfrey and Snape are aware of and I'm not ready for others to know just yet, so I hope you'll keep this knowledge to yourself at least until September._

_That being said I really hope you can help me with info gathering. Write soon, _

_H. J. P.]_

_'He really doesn't do anything half-way, does he?'_ – chuckled Draco nervously as he burnt the letter so it wouldn't fall into his father's hands. The boy didn't want to hide this from his father, but Harry was his friend and the blond did not want to betray Harry's trust – _'Well, at least finding info won't be too difficult, especially since he said Uncle Sev already knows. I can just ask him to owl Harry the books he has.'_

He asked a house elf about his father's whereabouts and was rather pleased to hear that Lord Malfoy already left for the Ministry.

_'Well, that makes things easier than I expected. I suppose I'll just fire-call uncle Sev now and be done with it.' –_ decided the boy and went to have a chat with his godfather.

**…**

Ever since he made the Potion for Potter, Severus knew the boy would try to find out more about his creature. He supposed the decent thing to do would be volunteering the information, but he was a Slytherin for a reason and it wasn't like he actually liked the Potter spawn. During the school year Severus was forced to admit that the brat was rather intelligent no matter how much he looked like a clone of James (though if he was honest with himself the glasses had been a large part of the likeness and once the boy stopped wearing them Severus noticed various small differences from his school-time enemy).

So he was not overly surprised when he received a letter from Draco. Of course it was much earlier than he anticipated, but, he reckoned, Potter only got lucky because he thought to contact Draco first. Now that he was actually asked for information, Snape found himself to be rather hesitant. Of course he swore to protect Lily's child and this information was important for any dragon demon to have.

_'Merlin, why did this happen again?'_ – he sighed – _'Why couldn't he have been something more common, like a vela, or even a vampire? Oh, well… no use complaining now. I guess I'll just send the brats some of the books and have a talk with him at some point… he can't be left on his own or it could cause trouble, especially considering the Weasley mess… Speaking of which, I really should catch up with Minerva and see if any of the kids she was watching had been harmed…'_

* * *

Arthur Weasley was currently very far from being the happiest person on the globe. Actually he was pretty far from just being happy. He had to really force himself to believe everything he has been told. That only the three that were not biologically his had been harmed was weird. Of course Arthur knew that if his children inherited his creature they would be impossible to rape, but that left another question – how did his wife find out about the creature? Obviously it was not a 100% certainty that she did, however, all things considered, Arthur was glad he stopped taking the inhibition potion.

Having sent his sons to spend some time with their grandfather, Arthur poured himself a shot of fire-whiskey and settled in front of the fireplace to wait for Molly who had been visiting her parents' grave that day. Finally the flames turned green and the plump red-haired harpy that was his wife stepped through.

"Hello, Molly." – said the man staring at her coldly. This was very different from the always mild tempered wizard Molly was used to. Of course she could recall him having a similar disposition before, when they were in Hogwarts, but he never showed this side of him since the wedding. So seeing him like that made alert bells jingle in Molly's mind, not that she paid them any attention, she was too confident in her plan.

"Arthur, dear, you waited for me." – she exclaimed and went to hug her husband, not noticing how rigid he became when she did so – "That's so sweet of you!"

And then it happened. Arthur roughly pushed her away and snarled, his eyes glaring holes through her:

"There is nothing sweet about this, or the conversation that is long overdue." – the voice was so cold and stoic that Mrs. Weasley flinched.

"W-what conversation?" – she stuttered – "Arthur, what's going on with you?"

The man chuckled bitterly and narrowed his blue eyes:

"Really we have lots to discuss as you very well know… where do I begin? How about this one: when were you going to confess that you've been cheating on me? Or maybe you'd like to discuss the fact that not all of our children are mine by blood? No? Not that one either? Oh, maybe you'd like to talk about how Dumbledore raped your son and you got money from Harry Potter's vault? So? Which problem are we going to discuss first?"

By the end of the speech Molly was as white as a ghost, while Arthur was dangerously calm. The only thing that betrayed his fury were his eyes – they turned purple and were practically glowing with power. Now scared out of her mind, Moly turned on her heels and made a dash for the fireplace.

_'Must get to Dumbledore.'_ – was the only thing on her mind. Unfortunately for the plump woman, her husband was much stronger and faster. Of course he was nowhere near his real strength and speed, not after taking an inhibiting potion for a decade, still it was more than enough to restrain his wife. He grabbed her around the wrist and practically threw her in the opposite direction, not caring if he hurt her. That was not really true, but at that moment his creature was out and it wanted revenge.

* * *

While Arthur was having it out with his wife, Harry received one of the biggest shocks of his life (not counting the inheritance of course). His letter to Draco bore fruits much sooner than expected and answers came from a very unexpected source – Severus Snape. Potter pinched himself and went over the letter again. No matter how many times he read it though, it still remained the same.

_[Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I am sending you these books on behalf on my godson, Draco Malfoy. In his letter to me he asked me for information since you told him I was already aware. As it happens I am in possession of a few volumes that will interest you greatly. They have been passed to me through my maternal grandmother, who like you was a Ryu-youkai. I have never needed them myself, since I did not inherit the creature, but I'm sure you will find the information in them useful._

_Should you have any questions feel free to owl me. _

_Prof. S. Snape.]_

'Straight forward and to the point… very Snape-ish.' – Harry chuckled mentally and took out the books. There were four of them and all were very useful – 'I guess I'll forgive him for not making this easy for me, he is a Slytherin after all. Now let's see…'

The first book was rather thick. It had a black leather cover and the title was engraved in cursive purple letters 'Dragon Demons: Origins and basics'. Harry made a face – history was certainly not his strong point, but he would definitely read this later. The next book was both larger and thinner. It was called 'Of habits and mating'. Harry put this one on the bedside table, it would certainly be the first one to read. Another book had info about Dragon magic and coming into the dragon demon inheritance. Harry held the books close to him and smiled – the day was certainly a good one… at least for him.

* * *

**Author's Note: And here is the next chapter. I apologise for the long wait, I had to move out of the dorm for two weeks and then I was busy moving back to Russia =) Anyway, I hope you liked it. If so, let me know =)  
P.S.: Also thanks a lot to the people who informed me about that 5 year old that got pregnant, I didn't know about that one. And like always, thanks a lot to the people who leave reviews, I really enjoy reading them.****  
**


	31. Some answers and even more new questions

**Author's Note:** Well... this was a very long wait i'm sad to say. I am never the less continuing with the story and I hope that you guys won't be disappointed with how it develops =)

**Note:**

"blah" - normal speech;  
"Blah" - overheard conversations;  
_'blah_' - thoughts;  
_[blah]_ - letters, diary entries, book passages, etc.  
_**$blah$**_ - Parseltongue;  
**"blah!"** - spells;  
**%^blah^%** - ghosts speaking to each other without living people hearing;

**Previously on 'Harry Potter: The Black Lord':**

Straight forward and to the point… very Snape-ish.' – Harry chuckled mentally and took out the books. There were four of them and all were very useful – 'I guess I'll forgive him for not making this easy for me, he is a Slytherin after all. Now let's see…'

The first book was rather thick. It had a black leather cover and the title was engraved in cursive purple letters 'Dragon Demons: Origins and basics'. Harry made a face – history was certainly not his strong point, but he would definitely read this later. The next book was both larger and thinner. It was called 'Of habits and mating'. Harry put this one on the bedside table, it would certainly be the first one to read. Another book had info about Dragon magic and coming into the dragon demon inheritance. Harry held the books close to him and smiled – the day was certainly a good one… at least for him.

**On with the Story.**

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTY.**

**_ (the Burrow, same evening) _**

While Harry's day was for a change a good one, the same could definitely not be said for one Molly Weasley nee Prewitt. She landed in a heap on the floor, her head throbbing from hitting the book shelf she was thrown into, and stared at her husband in mute horror. She could not understand how it all came out. After all Dumbledore said Arthur would never know and Dumbledore was always right, everyone knew that.

"Gonna sit there and say nothing?" - snarled the man that was her husband - "Nothing to say for yourself? ... Suppose not, after all what would you say? That you did it cause Dumbledore told you to? ... Pathetic."

While Arthur was usually a very gentle man, his kids were the most important thing for him and Molly harmed them in a very horrible way, now she would pay for what she's done.

And that was indeed practically the only thought circling in Molly's mind, nothing else.

"But ... but ... Dumbledore said ..." - she managed to stutter out.

"Not a word about that lemon-sucking bastard!" - spoke Arthur in a deadly calm voice - "You will say why you went along with what Dumbledore planned ... NOW!"

* * *

**_ (Meanwhile at Privet Drive) _**

Hugging books sure was silly, but these were special - they would explain all the changes Harry would have to go through. The boy had no clue what would happen, but he was sure it would be significant. A strange feeling overcame him and Harry looked around frowning - it felt like someone was watching him. He was however alone. The young brunet closed the window for good measure, even it was a warm night and he lived in the attic, not wanting anything bad to happen.

_'Just one night and I'll be out of this damned place,'_ - he assured himself and settled down on his bed to do some reading before sleep. He smiled to himself as he realized that he would have a year with no annoyances like Granger or Ronald. It was of course not very nice of him to think so, considering the fact that Hermione was dead and Ronald in St. Mungo's, but it was not like Harry claimed to be the utmost Gryffindor person possible.

_'This has to be a good year ... as long as Dumbledore doesn't screw anything up that is.'_ - chuckled the boy as he flipped through the history books, soaking in practically every word he read. At first the history of the ryu-youkai did not seem all that interesting, but as he read more he understood that it was important to know this stuff since it actually had ties with pretty much every thing else that was to know about his kind.

Harry was very happy to find out that even though his true form would indeed have wings and some scales in certain places on his body, he would also have a human form that he could maintain constantly and it could not be detected, distorted and so on. Several hours later he was finally in the mating section of the book. This was indeed the knowledge Harry dreaded to learn. As such he made sure to pay extra attention.

_[There are usually 4 groups within the ryu-youkai kind. The females can only be either the submissive or the carrier in an all-male mateship. This can be told by the level of parental feeling she displays towards young children, be it her own siblings or the children of other mated pairs. If such an instinct is very well developed, the female is most likely a submissive. The other important way to tell is the positioning of the scales present in the female's true form. Until the submissive, female and male alike, are mated, their scales remain white and turn an appropriate color after the mating._

_The males ryu-youkai fall into two main groups: dominant and submissive. Dominants are taller, more muscled and physically stronger than the submissive, while the submissive males are faster and stronger magically. This is so the dominant mate can care for and protect his submissive/s and punish should the need arise. The submissive mate though has much more magical power to protect him/herself and the children should the dominant be not present, as well as to not let him/herself to be abused._

_It is quite usual that the mateship has anywhere from 3 to 5 members, 7 happens in the cases of very powerful submissives that need more than one grounding mate. It is not necessary that all members of the mateship are ryu-youkai, but at least the submissve, Alpha dominant and the carrier (only needed if the submissive is not magically powerful enough to carry his own offspring or just does not wish to risk it) have to be. The ryu-youkai gene is dominant and any children in the mateship will be ryu-youkai._

_Currently submissives are quite rare and as such there are strict rules when it comes to mating. Every new submissive must hold a meeting to meet the possible dominants as soon as they come into inheritance or by the age 16 if the inheritance comes early. These happen in the presence of a chaperon, if the submissive's parents are not available, so that the submissive is safe from those that may want to force themselves on him/her. _

_The ryu-youkai do not have destined mates like many other magical creatures, but they can be the destined mate of another creature. In this case they may or may not accept the mate into the mateship. WHile it may not seem so, the submissive is the head of the mateship, even if not officially... ]_

With a heavy sigh Harry placed marked the page and set the book aside. It was of course good to know that he would not be forced to be with with someone he didn't know at all or just plain hated, but if he was right, he was submissive, that meant that he could possibly have anywhere from to 2 to 6 mates... the thought made the boy shudder, especially since he never actually thought about which gender he would like to date later on. Thankfully he had at least 2-3 years to come to terms with his news status.

* * *

_**(Back at the Burrow)**_

While Harry was busy reading, Arthur interrogated his wife. He of course had hoped that she was under the imperio like their children, but that was unfortunately not the case. Molly Weasley knew what it was that she was doing. Worse than that - she knew exactly what Dumbledore did to two of her sons. Ginny's situation made her go in a rage and it was then that she spilled the plan of making the girl marry Harry to get a hold of the Potter fortune. To put it mildly - Arthur was deeply disgusted by the woman he married, especially since he sacrificed the ties with his family to do so, as his father was against his marrying Molly. Were it not for the children, Arthur would definitely regret he ever married Molly.

With a heavy sigh the man put his wife under a stunning spell and went to call his friend and auror Kingsley Shakebolt and report his wife, all the while thinking if it would be possible to ever make his dad forgive him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry for this being sort of short, I needed to see if i can actually pick it up where i left it especially after such a long break. The next chapter will definitely be longer, what with third year starting and all =) And here's a question for you to consider: If Arthur divorces Molly, who would you like to see him with?

P.S.: The mating process of ryu-youkai may seem like the one described by StarLight Massacre in 'the rise of drackens' and yes, that is what inspired this entire thing, so I hope it is okay. I shall obviously do my best to create something unique even if it has a similar base =) Once again, sorry for the horrible long hiatus.


End file.
